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Shark Week III

Written By: Skabaard

The forest was such a lovely place this time of year. A refreshing breeze rustled the leaves overhead just as the sun drenched the world in warmth and vitality. A line of rainstorms had passed through recently, making the underbrush seem even greener and making the dark, loamy soil cool underfoot. They'd stopped and pitched their camp someplace new this year, by the edge of a little stream that had carved a shallow gully between rocks and exposed tree roots. The water murmured quietly to itself as it meandered along the contours of the land, trickling between subtly rolling hills.

The whole world smelled like life, and even with the burble of the water and the soft whistle of the wind, it was quiet, the sort of quiet to which she wasn't sure she could ever grow accustomed. It's not as though Mel didn't appreciate a little peace from time to time, however. It was just such a stark contrast to the life she was used to living, full of clamor and toil and action. One of the only truly familiar sounds she could hear was the almost musical clinking of her armor as she worked at securing it to her body.

Toby was helping her, fingers busy with buckles and straps. She could manage it herself, but it was a task made so much simpler with a little aid. He was humming softly as he worked, a song he liked, and her tail waved behind her, lobed fins swishing through the air in time with the rise and fall of his voice. As he fastened her breastplate to her torso, his fingers lingered along her side, and she couldn't decide if he was simply dawdling or if he was savoring the contours of her body. She was able to make an educated guess though, and she brought her tail against his leg with a stiff thwap and an impatient huff. "Hey horseface! Focus!"

The lanky equine pouted at her. "What? Aren't I allowed to get a little distracted?"

"No!" she barked, giving his leg another slap for good measure. "I thought wizards were supposed to have self-control. Let me know if you're slipping and I'll be sure to take it easy on you."

Toby chuckled, bowing his head in submission and returning to his self-appointed task. "Would you though?"

She mirrored his laugh, looking over at him with a wry smirk. "No. Where would be the fun in that?"

"That's what I thought." the horse thoughtfully mused. "It might hurt my feelings knowing that you've been letting me win all this time."

"Gods forbid I offend your delicate sensibilities." she retorted with a scoff. "No, if you want to win I'm going to make sure that you have to work for it."

"Where would I be without you to keep me in shape?"

She barked a sharp laugh. "Fuck if I know. Probably getting fat in some library... reading a book or something just as horrendous. I like you much better like this."

With a firm tug, Toby finished with her breastplate, making sure the armored sleeve that went over the large fin that protruded between her shoulder blades was secure beneath it. "Well then I suppose I owe you."

Sliding on her gauntlets, she wiggled her fingers into their articulated, metal sleeves and gave them an experimental flex. "Yeah. You probably do. But who's keeping score?"

Toby straightened and stepped away as she stood and worked her shoulders in their sockets, checking her range of motion. "Funny, I was certain that you were keeping track for us." he mentioned, pulling on his own gauntlets.

She jumped up and down a few times, rattling like an oversized wind chime as she made sure everything was going to stay in its place. "Oh don't worry. I am."

His smile broadened. "That's what I thought. Tell me; what's the score looking like nowadays?"

He knew full well what the score was, and she shot him a pointed glare as she stalked across their little camp. "It's going to look a lot better after I kick your face into the dirt, you smug bastard."

His sigh made it sound like he found her tone refreshing. "You're confidence is always an inspiration, Mel, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take a rain check on that dirt eating. I'm going to need a captive audience for what I have in mind."

She snorted as she stooped to heft her weapon, a double-ended spear longer than she was. Both its foot-long steel tips were still capped, and she whirled it around with a flourish. "Oh? A special occasion? You should have told me. I'd have worn something nicer."

Her full body suit of plate and mail was by far the most expensive and elegant thing she owned, and Toby's cool, grey eyes wandered over her silvery silhouette as she stretched. She enjoyed his smile with equal relish. "Oh... no more special than any afternoon with you, Mel. But I suppose that's the point."

"Yeah, you've got your ups and downs," she added, "but I suppose I can admit that I've been looking forward to this. And for more than just the chance to shove a foot up your ass. Although you deserve it for leaving me alone with Emma when we could have had so much more fun with you around."

His ears flicked anxiously as he buckled his sword to his hip. "So you've not hesitated to remind me. Emma seemed to enjoy herself."

"Oh course she did, but she's easy to please. I'm a much more complicated girl." she continued with a sardonic grin. "Or maybe I'm just too used to having you around. I wish I could figure out why..."

"Well, In spite of your efforts to prove me wrong, I know that you're an intelligent woman. I've faith that you'll figure it out eventually. However... if you'd like any assistance in that endeavor, I'll gladly lend a hand."

"Careful, big boy," the shark purred, showing her teeth, "I might take more than a hand."

With a clean, metallic ring, Toby's sword slid from its scabbard, and the equine spun it into a low guard. "Is that a threat or a promise?"

She mirrored the motion, sliding the steel of her spear free of its cap and twirling it up in front of her. "Why don't you prance on over here and see for yourself?"

His blade dipped in salute, and he gave her a theatrical bow. "With pleasure, milady."

In less than a heartbeat, he'd snapped back upright and halved the distance between them with long, loping strides. Her grip tightened on the haft of her spear, and she hissed as she danced backward, spinning and darting away from their camp and into the trees. The woods weren't very dense in this part of the forest, and the trees were young and spindly. She easily scampered between them, knowing that they would prove a more significant obstacle for the larger horse. Distance was key, of that she was certain. She couldn't hope to stand up to Toby in a traditional duel. He was as fast as his lean body looked, and he had plenty of strength and reach on her. The only chance she had was more carefully choosing their battleground, something at which she excelled.

Mel heard Toby grumbling behind her as she put some distance between them, and she opened her mouth to voice a playful taunt when she saw something small and unsettlingly bright, like a marble that glowed like a blazing, leaf green star, zip past her and into the trees ahead. Her smug jab became a startled, "Wha-" an instant before the little bead of alien light exploded into a spherical plume of coruscating, viridian fire. Flame filled her vision. Tongues of it boiled between the trees, reaching out toward her like twisted, ghostly fingers. They left the wood and foliage untouched, but she felt the heat of it on her face as she skidded to a halt. And then the force of the detonation struck her. What felt like the hand of a god reached down from the heavens and hit her armor, tossing her aside like a toy. The world spun around her, and she was thrown backwards. A sapling or two was snapped in half by the weight of her body before she met the ground in a spray of dirt and flailing limbs.

When she stopped rolling she sucked in a ragged breath and forced her eyes open. Her ears were ringing and it still seemed like the ground was wobbling beneath her, but she managed to tuck a foot under her and force herself upright. Her armor was scuffed dusty, but it had done its job admirably, and she scrambled at her fallen spear, hissing a short curse. Before she could reach it, however, a sword intercepted her path, and she sprang to the side to dodge a quick swipe aimed at her chest. Instead of following her in her retreat, Toby interposed himself between the shark and her spear, and he returned to his guard stance as he watched her carefully, waiting for her next move.

The horse stood proudly, hoof forward and knees ever so slightly bent, ready to launch himself into any number of reactive motions. His free hand glowed with a nimbus of green light, a half-formed spell crackling between his fingers. He studied her, the eyes of a master swordsman flicking at each of her motions, planning and replanning. And yet, half a smile remained glued to his lips. She heaved a sigh and dusted off her pauldron. "Fuck, Toby. This doesn't seem fair."

He lifted a shoulder in a lazy shrug. "Sure it is. It's just not even. There's not much I can do about that."

"Horseshit." Mel quipped. "You could have at least told me we were playing for keeps, no stops."

His smile deepened, touching his eyes. "Odd. I'd swear I did. Sorry Mel. This one's mine. I can't afford to let you win this time."

She chuckled and drew a pair of knives from her belt. "Maybe, big boy, but can you afford to beat me?"

He extended his lucent hand and beckoned to her. "Come find out."

Releasing a steadying breath, Mel chirped a quick, "Alright." She charged, digging into the soft loam and taking off at a dead sprint. Toby braced himself, lowering the tip of his sword so that if she simply continued, she would impale herself. She didn't. She lunged to the left, making to circle around, and his sword followed her, threatening her. As soon as he started to turn his body, she dug her boots into the soil and reversed direction. He may have been fast for a swordsman of his size, but she was still faster, and she ran at his legs more quickly than he could correct for her change in bearing. He backpedaled and swung his sword in a low, horizontal slash meant to slow her advance, but instead of dodging back or aside, she gritted her teeth and let his blade fall on her bracer.

The shock of the impact shook her to the bone, but she'd angled her arm enough to guide the razored steel edge down and away from her body. The strength of his swing forced his arm low, and she could see the realization in his eyes as she continued her advance faster than he could retreat and faster than he could bring to bear whatever sorcery was crackling across his other hand. She had only a split second before he recovered, but for that split second, he was entirely hers.

She still had to act quickly though, and her options were limited. She quickly settled for simply shaking his smug confidence. He was armored much as she, and she couldn't hope to leave any mark on him where she was, but no armor was perfect. She went after exposed straps. Her knives made quick work of any bare leather she could reach as she ducked low under his guard. She sliced the buckled bands holding the gauntlet onto his overextended hand, she cut the sword belt off of his hips, and she folded herself nearly in half as she dove between his legs, reaching for her spear.

He made her pay for her boldness. Whipping around almost as quickly as she could leap for her weapon, he lashed out with a leg as he spun. Toby's greaved shin hit her chest as she turned to meet it, and the impact drove the breath from her lungs as it tossed her aside. But she'd done it. She clutched her spear tightly to her chest and rolled with the blow as best she could, eventually getting her feet under her and skidding to a halt. As she wheezed, she watched Toby's belt fall to the ground, and with a bemused smile the horse pulled off his damaged gauntlet and likewise discarded it. "I really should know better than to underestimate you." he sighed.

"Damn straight," she said with a cough, trying to get a little air into her lungs again, "but I forgive you, you sack of manure."

He laughed before extending his hand and barking a sharp command. Her skin prickled dangerously, and she dodged aside just as the ground she'd been standing on suddenly cratered under the force of an invisible blow. She danced between trees as the equine followed her with a trail of focused destruction. The air around her exploded, filling with fire and arcs of jagged green lightning that she only just managed to stay half a step ahead as they writhed harmlessly around the boles of young trees, seeking her out. She knew what he was doing. He was just running her around, fatiguing her, reducing any advantage her small size and speed afforded her, and she wasn't about to let him just beat her by exhausting her.

No. She wanted blood. Gripping her spear, she leapt up and kicked off of the bole of an older, sturdier oak and ran for him. They met in a clash of steel as he deflected her first thrust with a parry that threw her weapon to the side. She followed it, spinning and swinging the foot of bladed steel from the other direction. He turned just enough to block it with his greave before swinging down at her, a blow she only just managed to knock away with the butt of her spear. Again, she used the momentum given to her by his sword to snap the tip of her weapon up and into his off hand, disrupting whatever spell he might have been conjuring and forcing him back a step to give his lanky arms room to swing.

She let him retreat. A little room made it just as easy for her to spin her spear, and she kept him on the defensive with a flurry of rapid blows that she brought around on his legs, focusing on his knees, fouling his footing and making him stumble and dance. It kept her directly in front of him and left her dangerously open. His retaliatory strikes fell unnervingly close, only barely able to be turned away or redirected to her armor. The crash of steel on steel was deafening, only overcome by the sound of her heartbeat in her ears. A feral grin showed her teeth, and she barked a triumphant cry when he overreached and left her an opening she could truly exploit.

At least that's what he wanted her to think. Instead of letting the edge of her spear slid through a small gap in the armor next to his knee, his sword whipped around almost faster than her eye could see and slapped the tip of her weapon down, where her thrust drove it into the dirt. Abruptly, she was the one left entirely open, and before she could hope to recover, he'd planted a hoof against her breastplate and kicked her off of her feet. She managed to keep a hold on her spear, but she flew backwards and slammed into the ground, digging a trench in the loam with her armored fin as she slid on her back. Groaning a breathless curse, she pried herself from the soil and rolled dizzily to her feet, leaning on her spear and blinking stunned tears from her eyes.

At least she'd managed to wind Toby, who adjusted his grip on his sword started trudging at her. "You're really not going to make this easy on me, are you?"

She straightened and pulled the cap from the other end of her spear. "What am I supposed to do, let you get fat and lazy?"

"Fair enough..." he muttered as he picked up speed and swung his sword down in a smooth, backhand slash. With a twirl of her spear, Mel knocked it away and returned a quick jab. He blocked, and they spent a moment trading initiative. Strike. Parry. Riposte. Parry. Riposte. Dodge. Thrust. Advance. Retreat. Together they danced in a wide circle. Her breathing was heavy and labored and her arms burned with fatigue. What was likely going to be a full-body bruise was aching across her chest. His gaze was focused wholly on her, and his sword rose and fell with flawless precision, landing exactly where he needed it to as it effortlessly bounced away her spear and forced her to defend herself. He had full advantage. She was accustomed to acting with the element of surprise or fighting alongside the very horse that was pushing her back, and he was a duelist at heart, nearly unmatched even without his sorcery.

Staggering backward over an exposed root, and knowing her situation was growing increasingly desperate, she lashed out, driving the point of her spear up at him, toward the lightly-armored point where his arm joined his torso. His sword was in a poor position to stop it, but he didn't need it. He lifted his forearm, letting the blade of her weapon glide across his bracer as he pushed her thrust down. And then he surprised her by grabbing the reinforced wood as it scraped along the side of his breastplate and proceeded to jerk it violently out of her hands.

The sullen, "Oh shit..." that crossed her mind didn't quite have time to make it past her lips before Toby slammed his sword against her side and spun, pushing her back and sweeping her spear low. The haft hit her ankle, and Mel grunted as her feet were knocked cleanly out from under her. Her side hit the dirt, and she rolled onto her stomach just in time to have a set of strong fingers grab her by the breastplate and haul her off the ground. Toby threw and arm around her chest, pushed her fin under his arm, and pulled her against him. The horse brandished his sword, holding it close to her throat and panting the order to yield into her ear.

She'd lost. But... she hadn't yet exacted her price. Relying on her gauntlet to protect her hand, she grabbed the blade of his sword and pushed it away from her neck long enough for her to lunge and sink her sharp, triangular teeth into his sword hand. His voice jumped up into a sharp yelp, and because Mel didn't really want to hurt him, she let go when he dropped her, dumping her unceremoniously onto her face. Before she could pull in a breath to laugh, it was driven from her lungs as the horse planted a hoof in the small of her back and angled his sword threateningly at her head. "Was that entirely necessary?" he grumbled.

"Absolutely." she wheezed, bringing up puffs of dust and dirt from the ground as she gasped. She slumped against the soil, yielding victory to Toby. Her whole body hurt, but the familiar taste of his blood on her lips made it entirely worth it. When the heavy, equine foot was removed from her back, she rolled over with a stiff grunt, propping herself up on her fin and spreading her arms in wordless supplication.

Toby took one look at her shameless grin and shot her one of his own. His scabbard was laying some distance away with his ruined belt, so he set aside his sword before he bled all over it. "That was an awful lot of work just to get a taste, you know."

She licked her lips. "Worth every bruise."

"As long as you're satisfied, I suppose." he idly mused, offering her his still gloved hand.

Mel took it, and he dragged her back up to her feet. There they stood for another minute, panting, she with her hands braced on her knees and he nursing his bloody hand. When he laughed, a light, almost private chuckle, she peered up at him. "What?"

He dismissed her query with an idle wave and a little shake of his head. "Nothing, Mel. Come on; let's get fixed up. If you're well-behaved, I might think about giving you a chance tomorrow."

He strolled toward their tent by the stream, leaving his discarded belongings where they'd fallen. It wasn't as if they had made it far from camp, and nothing was in danger of being lost, so she followed him, rapping her knuckles on his thigh. "Your big mouth is going to get you into trouble one day, you know that?"

With a sidelong glance, he smirked down at her. "You're assuming it hasn't already. And besides, with a woman such as you to watch my back, what need I fear?"

"Fair enough." she sighed.

With a tired grunt, Toby plopped himself down next to the modest pit they'd laid out for their fire and ignited it with a snap of his fingers. The flames flickered green before they caught onto the kindling she'd prepared, but before long, the crackle of damp wood filtered between the trees. She flopped down next to him, tugging off her gauntlets and digging through her pack while he fiddled with his armor with his uninjured hand. "By the way..." he muttered between pensively pursed lips, "when you cut off my gauntlet, were you planning to put those teeth to use?"

"Of course." Mel lied as she pulled from her pack a small jar. "I'd hoped to get a little bit more of a taste, though. You know I'm not one to just nibble."

She popped the lid from the squat, cylindrical container and dipped her fingers into the aromatic, wheat-colored paste that filled it. Patiently, she waited for him to remove his remaining glove before taking up his wounded hand and letting him work off his armor with the other. The horse was dark, midnight-furred, but his hands and forearms, along with his calves and neatly-trimmed fetlocks were a crisp white, like fresh snow. The trickle of blood that dripped from his fingertips left crimson stains in the purity of it, and it was a simple task to locate the places where his hide had been punctured by her teeth. She held him, and he winced as she gently rubbed ointment into the cuts.

After a breath, he relaxed as the gooey potion took effect, soothing his pain and knitting together his furry hide. She kept massaging the spot, working in the paste until it had been completely absorbed by his body, making sure it did all it could to ease the discomfort she'd given him, even if he had deserved it. "While we're asking questions," she murmured, "how'd you chuck that fireball without setting half the forest on fire?"

Having only one free hand was clearly making it difficult for him to remove his armor, but he did nothing to pull the other from hers, giving her an amused chuckle instead. "I'll admit; it takes a little finesse. But any evoker worth his silver knows that it's just as important to know what not to burn."

"Mmh... I think you just like showing off too much."

"That might be so," Toby countered, peeling off his breastplate and setting it aside just so he could press a palm sincerely over his heart, "but I assure you it's only because you make for such a lovely audience. You just bring out the showman in me."

Mel grumbled mightily as she finished with his hand. She wanted to reach up and slap the white blaze right of the equine's otherwise black-furred face, but she chose instead to wiggle a little closer, shifting herself next to him and starting in on her own armor. "I bring out a lot of things in a lot of people, Toby. I think you're just an overconfident ass."

He reached aside to touch her, brushing a couple fingers down her arm. "Maybe you're right."

With a sigh, the shark unfastened her bracers and started making a neat pile next to her. It was nice to actually be able to feel his fingers. "Like shit I am. Since when does me thinking something make it true? Sometimes I think you're an arrogant sack of manure... But I know you're not. I just don't think that I'll ever get used to you trying to impress me."

His lips pursed into a wounded pout. "Trying?"

She rolled her eyes and threw a pauldron at his chest. "Alright. The fireball was pretty awesome."

The smile he answered her with was almost enough to draw one of her own across her lips. She had to resist, and she looked away lest the candor in his cool grey eyes draw her in. Toby watched her shed her armor with interest as he finished with his own, standing and laying it out next to their tent. When he returned, he knelt behind her and lent his hands, pulling free the dusty metal plates that hid her fin and tail. As soon as he had the chance, he slid his strong fingers up and over her shoulders, unlacing her padded jacket and gently pulling it off her arms. Mel tensed when his lips brushed against her scalp, his breath ruffling her mess of short, dark blue hair. He whispered down to her, and her rough sharkskin tingled at the power of his spell. The discomfort that had been steadily developing into a stiff ache across her bruised chest dwindled, banished, and it was replaced with comforting warmth that relaxed her, letting her slump back against his hands. "Nnh... Thanks." she managed to gratefully moan.

Toby kissed her again, soft against the top of her head. "Always. And thank you." He reached from behind, fingertips tickling under her jaw and over her cheek. The white of his hands and wrists was still stained with crimson, reminding her of the coppery tang of his taste that still lingered on her palate, buzzing in the back of her head like the remnants of a stiff drink.

She pushed his proffered, bloody fingers away from her lips, instead cradling their warmth against her cheek. She wanted this moment to last. "For what?" she murmured curiously.

"Oh..." he breathed against her ear, "for everything. For challenging me. For inspiring me. For keeping my ego at a manageable level."

She stifled her laugh into a snort. "Someone has to."

He shook his head. "No. No one has to. But you do, and that means a lot to me."

Turning her head, she peeked up at him past her shoulder. Toby didn't meet her gaze. He stared down into the dirt, looking pensive and distracted. "What's wrong?"

His eyes finally turned to meet hers, suddenly bright and intense. "Absolutely nothing. I just need to talk to you about something important."

Like a band of iron, his tone tightened around her chest. She swallowed hard and squeezed his fingers. "As long as it's not about the Lance or the Order. You know the rules."

"I do." he assured her with a nod. "But I might have to bend them a little to give you some context."

With a steady sigh, she released some of the unwelcome anxiety building in her chest and turned around, sitting on her calves in front of him and robbing his lips of the cushion of her hair. "Alright, but just this once."

He chewed on his tongue for a moment before continuing. "You remember your little adventure with Emma?"

"Distinctly."

Toby continued with a tiny nod. "Well, I couldn't be there because the Order called me to give a couple demonstrations. Evocation isn't really the most subtle of the schools of magic, so I guess I impressed a few of the senior wizards at the Academy."

He paused, and she fidgeted. "Yeah." she said, breaking the silence before it became unbearable. "That's not really a surprise."

Galvanized into speaking once more, he reached out and took her hand. "Well, while I was there, they made me an official offer. They want me to teach, to be an instructor at the Academy."

An agonizing flurry of conflicting emotions pulsed through her before she could restrain them, chief among them glee and fear. She didn't move. "You're acting like that's a bad thing."

"I declined."

He heart simply refused to stay out of her throat, and she cleared it enough to whisper out a word with a little cough. "Why?"

His grip strengthened on her fingers. "Because only a wizard can be an instructor, although they offered to grant me my stole on the spot. Because it would be an enormous commitment, planning lessons and classes, and I don't have the time to split between the Order and my duties; they're lucky I keep in touch with them at all. Because teaching is for wiser and sturdier men than I, and because teaching isn't how I was destined to help people. Even though the Archmage gave me his blessing to leave the Lance, I could never bring myself to turn my back on those obligations. But above all other reasons, I declined because I'd be expected to move to the capital, and I can't imagine a fate worse than the one that sees me separated from you."

His words washed over her, leaving her mentally numb, as if her mind were filled with fog. Mel could only repeat her question. "Why?"

"Because I love you, Mel."

She'd been doing all she could to brace herself for the words that she knew had been coming, but there was nothing she could have done that would have left her prepared for the firm confidence in his voice. It left her reeling, both physically and emotionally, and he reached out to grab her arm before she could topple limply backwards, dizzy and confused. Toby held her up, a passionate fire burning in his eyes. He spoke quickly now, like he was trying to say what he wanted to before she passed out. "Listen Mel. My name is Tobias Lain Havothin, evoker, mage of the Ordo Arcanum, swordsman of the Order of the Silver Lance, and I love you in a way so profound I can't explain it to you with things as mundane as words."

Mel felt nauseous, like all of her organs has been flipped upside-down, but for a long moment, nothing could make it past the hot, almost painful, knot in the middle of her chest. She felt full, full of something that almost hurt in its intensity, something that squeezed tears into her eyes and blurred her vision. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to face the truth she'd already known, and she shook her head. "Oh Toby," she croaked, her voice quiet and cracked, "what could you see in me?"

He pulled on her, dragging her close, against him. His body was warm and firm beneath his shirt, and Mel wrapped her arms around him to keep her world from spinning. Why was she so surprised? She'd already been so sure of this eventuality. She'd teased him about this very moment. But now the cloudy suspicions that she'd been able to push aside had solidified before her, heavy and concrete like a boulder in her gut. But his voice in her tapered ears was a balm, stabilizing her. "I see a young woman who gives herself too little credit, one who is bold and beautiful and ultimately unafraid to do what needs to be done. I see a woman with the strength to persevere against the most insidious type of demon: personal ones. I see you struggle, but never fear to throw yourself back into the fray. I see a woman who disguises kindness and courage as duties, and who-"

"Stop." she cut in, her voice like her body, shaking. "Please stop."

Tucking a finger under her chin, he pulled her head up, forcing her bleary eyes to his own. "Then let me show you, Mel. Let me show you what I can see burning inside of you." His touch softened, and he took her shoulder, pushing them gently apart. Then he took her hand in his, using the other to brush the moisture from her cheeks.

"Now. Just hold your hand here." Toby continued. "You'll feel a tingle." She braced herself, sniffling and gritting her teeth. The horse pulled his hand back and whispered a short, simple word. At the sound of his voice, a mote of warm green light flickered to life above his open palm. It floated there, glowing like a lantern between them. The hue reminded her of spring. It was the shade of the sun passing through newborn leaves: pale and youthful, but holding endless, renewing vitality and boundless, verdant potential. It was a color familiar to her, that which tinted all of Toby's works of magic, a reflection of his aura. Or so she understood.

When she had taken a good, long look at the little manifestation of his power, he let his hand pass beneath her outstretched fingers. Her tail flicked through the air behind her as, for a moment, her palm tingled fiercely and she fought the instinctive urge to ball up her thin digits. As the small wisp of light followed his movements and drifted over her hand, it danced, agitated, as the source of its power passed through her. While it settled, its color wavered and shifted, coursing through the rainbow before settling on a shade that left her utterly dumbfounded. "It's... pink." she stammered

He nodded. "As a rose."

The color looked... intimate, fragile, like any distortion would ruin it utterly. She swallowed heavily, and the little light bobbed above her hand, perhaps mirroring her unease and awe. "I-it... It looks so girly."

The boisterousness of his sudden laugh startled her, and the light jittered back and forth as a result. "That's one word for it, I suppose. Though I'd prefer to call it... genuine. It's soft and delicate, much like you."

Disbelief welled up for a moment, displacing her ruined mental footing long enough for her to bark a dismissive, "I'm neither of those things, Toby."

He shook his head. "I disagree. And in spite of the effort you put into it, I don't think you believe it either."

Mel reached out and tried to close her hands over the luminous point, but it vanished as she moved, disrupted. Toby withdrew his arm and watched her, waiting. Her hands fell listlessly into her lap. She felt like she needed to say something, but she couldn't begin to imagine what. And even if she could, there was no way she could force air through the ball of indecipherable emotion that was aching in her throat. She could barely breathe as it was. Happy. She should be happy. She should be laughing and dancing, full of giddy energy, but she couldn't extract joy from the tangle that filled her chest. "I'm sorry." she finally managed to whisper.

Reaching out, Toby lightly touched her hand. "Why, Mel?"

With a weak shrug, she replied, "Dripping Ichor, Toby, I don't fucking know. I feel helpless. I don't know what to do! I've gone over this so many times in my head! You love me. I love you too! We kiss and live happily ever after! But... but it all sounds so childish now that I really think about it and it locks up in my chest and I can't fucking breathe and now I feel like I'm just pissing all over what you're trying to do and say and I don't know what to do! Fuck, Toby, help me. please. I... I-I don't know what to do."

He kissed her. There wasn't ceremony or hesitation. He leaned down, shadowing her. His lips pressed over hers, muzzle dipping toward her angular, piscine snout. His hand slid around her, cupping the small of her back and pulling her close to his chest. She bent backwards beneath him, and his other hand found her neck, crawling up her spine and petting her hair as he poured enough fiery passion into her mouth to leave the tips of her ears tingling threateningly. She let out a throaty, "Mmph...Mmh..." It was a little, surprised gasp that trailed off into a low purr as her mind lurched and tumbled end over end.

Mel's tiny hands bunched, scrunching up the fabric of his shirt with her fingers, pulling it tight on his lean frame as she grasped at him. When the horse pulled away, he had to keep her from following his mouth with a steady grip on her shoulder. And then he teased her by licking his lips. "Well, for starters, I'd like it if you could take a deep breath and focus for me. I haven't even gotten to what I need to say and you're already falling apart on me. Didn't you just say you weren't some pretty, dainty flower?"

"Gods" Blood, Toby, I will hurt you!" she hissed. "Don't you start toying with me now! What more could you possibly say to make me question my entire existence?!"

His fingertips slipped from her shoulder and to her fin, caressing its trailing edge and making the sensitive skin ache for a little more. "Well, how about this? I'm a sorcerer. Perhaps not an overly powerful one, but I'm far from what some wizards would call weak. What some people would call miracles come naturally to me, but ever since I manifested, my power has been a curse. I burned down my home at the age of thirteen. I almost killed my parents, my brothers and sisters. I got carted off to the Academy to learn control, and I did, but I will never be able to live a normal life. Not ever, Mel."

She wanted to speak, to voice some of the confusion that was bubbling up through the snarled skeins of glee and fear that dominated her chest. But she didn't. Toby's expression demanded her silent attention. "The first thing they teach us at the Academy, before we learn a single incantation, before we even try to touch magic, is what we are. They make us acknowledge that we, by our very natures, by the whims of the gods or quirks of fate or sheer random happenstance, are different on a deep and irrevocable level from everyone that we're likely to meet. Mel, I'm almost seventy years old, and if I can manage to stay out of trouble, I'll probably be around for another six or seven hundred years."

He heart plummeted from her throat to her toes fast enough to give her a headache. A vacuum had formed in the middle of her chest, and she only managed to force out a raspy, stunned, "O-okay..."

With a shake of his head, Toby wiped away a few fresh tears from the corners of her eyes. "That's absolutely not okay, not anymore. I can't fathom the world where I have to watch the woman I love... wither. I couldn't bear to... persist in a world without you. It would be like ripping the heart from my chest and expecting me to go on living."

His voice was beginning to waver, and he closed his eyes, pausing for a breath. Her hands relaxed and rubbed instinctively at his back at the sight of his strain. "I... I'm sorry, Toby."

With a few rapid blinks, a sniff, and a brief, ragged cough, he cleared his throat. "I know, but I don't want you to be. It's my hope that you'll join me and make this long, long journey I'm on a little bit more bearable."

"Wh-what?"

"It's a fairly simple ritual really. It wouldn't take any more than an hour. Ranna could do it easily. It would bind us together and let me share my life with you, literally and figuratively. It would let me give you a few hundred of my years and we... we could be together."

He looked so... anxious, with an almost boyish level of nervousness filling his eyes. It was something she'd seen so rarely in him, and it took her aback long enough for her to get a handle on her thoughts. "But-"

"No." he interjected. "I don't care that I'll cut my life in half in the process. Please, Mel, let me give you this. It's too long for one man to live anyway. If I'm not careful, it might just turn me into a cynic anyway, and that's the last thing I need."

Centuries... The implications of the words boggled her mind. She suddenly felt small and naive. She felt like a child so far out of her depth that she couldn't guess where she was. "I... Toby, I don't have anyone else, no brothers or sisters or parents to leave behind. You're all I've got. I need you. But I'm afraid."

He gave her a firm squeeze. "That's okay, good, even. It's not like I'm asking you to go for a walk around the park with me. Gods know I'm afraid too. I can't tell you what might happen a hundred years from now. I can't even really tell you what might happen tomorrow. I was always rubbish at divination. Most mages are. But Mel, I can tell you with absolute faith that I don't want to experience it with anyone but you. And like I said, I know how much I'm asking of you. This offer will never expire, so take time to think about it. Take all the time you need. If there's one thing I have in utter abundance, it's time."

"I don't need time Toby." she sighed, releasing a breath that puffed out her cheeks and eased the tightness in her ribcage. "I just need you to... I need you to hold me."

"Always." he murmured, drawing her to him. Mel's head drooped heavily, coming to rest against his chest, and she didn't bother to stifle the quiet, shaky sobs that rattled through her. She pushed her face into his shirt, letting it wick away her tears before they could gather and fall. She didn't know why she was crying. It was ridiculous. But it felt good. It loosened her shoulders and slumped her against him, and his arms curled warmly around her, cradling and affectionate. She was precisely where she wanted to be.

Perhaps realizing their foolishness, her tears quickly dried and the ache surrounding her heart dissipated. Still, she didn't shift so much as a muscle, at least until his fingers started trailing lightly across her back, tickling at her fin and making her wriggle. "I... love you, Toby." It felt right to say, and that made her feel better about her shameful hesitation. It gave her a little energy, and she squeezed him back, clasping her hands behind his back and holding herself there with all the strength she had in her sinewy muscles, enough to make the tall equine wheeze.

"That's what I'd hoped you'd say." said Toby in an intimate murmur. "But I didn't want to assume. It's a load off my mind to hear it from your lips instead of just in my dreams."

The air caught in her throat amidst a choked sniffle-laugh, and Mel jabbed him in the side with a finger. "Is this where you tell me you've been a closeted romantic all this time and now you're going to do all sorts of gentlemanly things to me, like bringing me flowers and taking me dancing?"

"Well, I could if you'd like, but I'll leave that for later. I'm rather enjoying myself right now. And besides," he added, dancing fingers down her spine to the base of her tail, leaving it swishing anxiously behind her, "I did win fair and square. I've got all night to decide what I want to do with you, or to you, as you so appropriately put it."

It hadn't been a mistake. As apprehension bled from her body, it was replaced with the glorious euphoria of joy spiced with the heat of refreshed passion. Mel peeled her cheek from his chest, rubbing a palm against the stains her tears had left in his shirt, and peeked up at him. His eyes were closed, and his head was inclined to the canopy above. His tapered ears flicked occasionally, listening. It entirely appeared that he was content to bask in the moment and nature alike, but his hands increasingly began to wander. "I love you, Mel." he whispered after a moment.

Leaning back into his hands, the shark fondly patted his chest. "Yeah, so you've mentioned once or twice today."

He chuckled, a comforting, more normal sound. "I hope you can get used to it, because I quite like the way it sounds."

She raked fingers through her mop of dusty, blue hair, pushing it out of her face. "I think I could, especially if you're willing to put up with me for a few hundred years. I suppose you've earned that much."

"It'll be quite the trial," he mused, "but I think we can survive it if we work together."

"We do make a pretty good team, I suppose."

"That we do."

Her lips drew back in a smile, but she forced them back together, pursing them as she lifted her head and pressed them to his collarbone, and then up against his throat, and then his jaw. Finally, he moved to join her, dipping his muzzle and letting her give him the attention he deserved. Mel pushed herself up onto her knees to make herself a bit more level with him, but he mirrored the motion, keeping himself only barely within her reach. And yet his lips pulled at her, keeping them together. And then his hands did the same, fairly scooping her off of the ground and into his arms.

She wriggled and readjusted herself, looping her own arms around his neck and pulling her lips free of his with a little smack. Her tail waved idly, and she languidly toyed with a few strands of his short, white hair. "It's such a long time, Toby. What the hells are we going to do with all that time?"

"We'll figure something out." answered the horse with a fond nuzzle against her snout. "I'm sure that people will be around to give us something to do for a lot of that time, so we might even have to remember to take some time for ourselves once in a while, hmm?"

"Life as usual, huh?"

"Precisely." Toby answered with a nod. "Just a little bit more of it than before. Now hold on." With that, he resettled her against him, holding her snugly as he pushed his hooves beneath him and stood up. She had no trouble staying focused on him as he carried her a little ways away from their camp. The muffled burble of water flowing over time-smoothed stones rose in volume, and the horse that had her planted firmly in his arms knelt at the water's edge, depositing her gently next to him.

Intrigue lifted her eyebrow as Toby, rather than undoing the buttons that held it to his chest, simply peeled his shirt up his body and over his head, folding it up and laying it aside. "Oh?" she purred, "What now?" She unabashedly enjoyed the act of taking him in, watching his taut, lean muscle moved beneath his dark, silky fur.

"I thought we could both use a little refreshment." offered Toby innocently. "I'm a sweaty mess, and you're _covered_in dirt."

He leaned over the shallows, dipping his hands into the water and scrubbing the dust and dried blood from his fur. With a huff, Mel started in on the buttons of her own shirt. "Well that wouldn't be a problem if someone hadn't spent ten minutes throwing me into the ground."

He shrugged. "Maybe, but it was worth it."

"I bet..." she muttered, standing up and laying out her shirt next to his. The air was cool on her rough, grey skin, and she let a beatific sigh escape her narrow chest. It was nice. She lifted her arms and stretched, working a little of the fatigue from her muscles. There was next to no fat on her body, and without the barrier of her shirt, the firm, flawlessly defined contours of her sinewy physique was on full display. Where he tough hide paled toward her belly, it showed an intricate interplay of light and shadow amongst the ridges and valleys of her musculature, and she ran her hands down her front, past her perky, little breasts, over her abs, and down to her belt, where her fingers began to work at the buckle, eager to see it off.

Toby was staring at her over his shoulder. "Like what you see?" she mused with a flick of her tail in his direction.

He excused himself with a cough, and she could swear she could see the pink of a little blush under the fur on his cheeks. "It's hard not to appreciate perfection when given the chance, Mel."

She laughed and tossed her belt on top of her shirt. "Oh, you poor thing. Do I really need to remind you that you can have any of this perfection any time you want? All you need to do is ask... Hells, sometimes all you need to do is just reach out and... take it."

He smiled slowly. "Sorry, I guess I was just distracted by other matters."

"Just like a mage to overlook what's standing five feet in front of him. It's alright though; you're lucky. I'm not going to let you forget." And then she leapt at him.

His eyes widened in surprise, but his arms moved faster than his mind. He caught her before she collided bodily with him, but it threw him off-balance, and he grunted as he toppled backwards and into the water with a splash. For a heartbeat, they were a tangle of flailing limbs. She fought to get a leg over him, to claim her prize, but without warning, his arm hooked around her waist and tossed her into the water. It was deeper than she thought, and cold, swollen with meltwater from the mountains. She twisted sinuously, righting herself before the current could foul her, and then a hand clamped down over her shoulder and hauled her above the water's surface, straight into Toby's lips.

She growled as he kissed her, and her hands balled into fists as her arms wrapped around his chest and squeezed him with vicious strength. He pulled back far before she was ready though, and it seemed just to shake his head, slinging water everywhere from his drenched hair, and laugh boisterously. An arm curled around her, and he pulled her against him, squishing her bare chest against the firmness of his torso. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you just made an advance on me."

There was an alluring disparity between the warmth of his body compressed against hers and the chill of the water flowing around them. It made her loathe loosening her grip on him. "Good thing you know me better. Although I'm about to start considering something drastic if you don't hurry up and take advantage of me. You've spent all day fucking around with me, and it wouldn't be fair at all to not give me some payoff for everything you've put my frayed nerves through."

His lips pecked at her cheek, then glided over her hers, lingering there. "Yes... I suppose that was a little selfish of me. But you've my word that I'll make it worth the hassle."

A husky mewl burbled in her throat as one of his hands danced down her back, under the water, to cup gently at her compact, muscled rear. "Ooh... will that be now, or later?"

Toby gave her a firm squeeze, his big palm easily cradling her modest, toned curves. "Why not both?"

A thumb found her waist and poked under the hem of her trousers, eagerly working them down past her willowy hips. "I like the sound of that." whispered the shark up into a twitching, equine ear. "No more games, though. I can't take any more games."

"No more games." he promised, pulling the breath from her lungs with a heated kiss. Her pants took a little doing to remove from her tail, and he was only working with one hand, but he persevered as she hung suspended from his arm, half-submerged. In a series of deft motions, he pulled her trousers from her legs, freeing her underwear with them, and tossed them onto the bank. The cold water washing over her exposed nethers was biting, and forced a hiss past sharp, clenched teeth. He came to her rescue in a heartbeat, however, pushing his palm over her crotch and tenderly massaging her, fur to flesh. At his familiar touch, the awkward tension bled from her body, and she went limp in his grip.

As her head fell back, his lips drifted to her throat, where they trailed in lazy, unhurried circles. With practiced ease, he saw to her loins, fingertips kneading her, stimulating the flow of ever warmer blood to the intimate cleft. Desire left her puffy and inflamed, and she blossomed for him like a ruddy, pink flower, open and needy. It all made the water feel even icier, and she squirmed in a mixture of delight and frustration when his hand, far from finished, left her swollen nethers to fiddle with his own dark, rugged leggings. Mel tried to help, lending her hands to the effort of pushing his pants down his thighs, but that was as far as they got. He made no effort to fully remove them, leaving them pinned around his knees and instead diving a hand between his legs to see to some of his own immediate concerns.

It was difficult to catch it all in a single glimpse between them, but she could watch, a split second at a time, as Toby reached between his sturdy thighs. His midnight fur extended to his full sac, heavy as it was with the weight of his suitably equine testes. Above it rested his tough, animalistic sheath. Already, the tip of his bestial member was pushing free of its prison, and as he cupped his fist-sized gonads, letting out a quivering sigh against her neck, the rest of it was disgorged like a thick, black serpent slithering from its den. She purred, her tail swishing through the water as it drooped pendulously against her belly. She felt it pulse between them, flooding with blood, swelling with quick, energetic pulsations that left it increasingly rigid.

As it grew erect, it stretched outward, putting on inch after inch. She knew its dimensions, she eyed it hungrily when she could, licking her lips as it twitched and throbbed, but before it could reach its full potential, Toby shifted, pulling back and altering his grip on her. The equine made it clear that there would be no more wasted time. He lifted her up and pushed her back, until he had the clearance he needed to line himself up, and then he pushed apart her legs and hooked a hand under her back, giving her just enough support to let him slowly prod his blunted horsecock against her tight, feminine entrance.

Her back arched, and she let out a throaty, "Ahhngh..." as he carefully, but unstoppably penetrated her. She stretched, and he sunk several inches of his turgid manhood between her strained netherlips, and then another inch more. She felt Toby fill her a little bit at a time, slowly, unhurried. His eyes closed, and he leaned deeply over her, his breath uneven. His thick crown scoured her inner walls, grinding against every inch, rewarding her body's surrender with tingling bliss that swept up from her loins and arced through her nerves. And then he completed his easy thrust, packing her full of cock, and still half of his taut length was left free of her.

That she couldn't hope to take all of him didn't seem to bother the horse at all, and he only reversed his direction, reclaiming a few inches so that he could return them with just as much casual force. He gave her a slow, languorous humping, and while she writhed and gasped, she figured out why. He wasn't fully ready to give her the fucking she so clearly wanted just yet. He was still getting hard. She could feel him swelling within her, growing thicker within the confines of her delicate womanhood. It was a peculiarly enticing sensation. Usually, she had him well and truly ready before letting him get anywhere near her crotch with his huge, bestial tool.

She enjoyed it while she could, because it was an issue that his pounding heart was quickly seeing to. With each roll of his hips, he reached a little deeper, a little more meat was forced past her almost submerged entrance. She could feel the veins that stood out from that heaving shaft pulsing at her walls, feeding his pride with more and more blood. Toby may have been short for a horse morph, but his loins shared no such affliction, and when he was bouncing her on his fully-erect cock, she was contending with at least twenty inches of hot, black steel, a monster thicker than her wrist.

With a quiet moan Mel thanked the gods for the suppleness of her body. That she could take even a bit of him was a miracle, considering how otherwise dainty her frame really was. Her voice lifted in a lilting song, a continuing rumble of grunts and gasps and groans that echoed the pleasure that filled her chest. He shook her with each ever firmer thrust, jerking her in a rhythm the he set for her. Her arms could only hug his muscled chest, her hands clenching at his shoulders in time with her ragged breaths. Little splashes counted out his jerky movements as Toby humped her into the water. As he did, he bent further over; he tucked his head against his chest and found her breasts with his lips. Her perky, pink teats ached as his broad, heavy tongue swirled in circles around them, and he began to grunt ominously, a dangerous, exciting sound.

It was delicious. Her whole body yearned for it. The chill of the stream was a forgotten discomfort, and the continuing flow of water was little more than an ever-present stimulation to the whole of her body. Her tongue lolled listlessly in her open mouth as she focused on breathing, on basking in the stabs of electric bliss that ripped up her spine in a mirror of his motions. Her eyes pinched closed; she wanted to hear his voice dip into the pit of his chest, she wanted to feel his body flex, working to give her the pleasure she was experiencing. Her inner walls quivered, tensing around him, and he picked up the tempo to match the dire, pulsating tension in her body.

The horse's nostrils flared, pouring heated air across her chest as he shivered and grunted. His entire body moved with desperate strength. Hard muscle bunched under his fur and under her quivering fingers as she clumsily groped his back. With bestial focus Toby rutted her; with wild reckless abandon he pounded his broad, flared cock against her womb. But he tempered that seething pleasure-pain with almost tender, little nibbles at her rock-hard nipples, with gentle kisses across her modest bust, as if his hips were an entirely different entity and he just wanted to cradle her against him and treasure her lean curves.

And then she screamed. Her back arched explosively, her entire body went taut, and she came on him with force that burned her skin and numbed her mind. In that same moment, she lurched, bending forward as if her body only wanted to curl up around him. It would have let her muffle her ragged outcries against his shoulder, but her teeth had snapped shut and she only managed to mush her snout against the side of his throat. Her trembling walls collapsed, unable to support the weight of her bliss any longer, and her body locked up around him, clenching desperately as she lost control of her spasming frame. But even her delirious strength was nothing to him, and he thrust like an animal, using her sudden, euphoric tightness while viciously grinding his bestial manhood into her shuddering depths.

He barely slowed when the first plume of his orgasmic heat erupted into her furthest reaches. Toby tensed, crushing her against his chest as he breathed a coarse growl into her ear and his equine tool swelled with virile vigor, flaring hugely to let the weight of his potency flow between her stretched lips and spew against the entrance of her womb in a tide of sticky white. Streamers of the pearlescent fluid spurted wetly from her stuffed loins while their ecstasy mingled, and the stream carried it away just as fast as she could be overfilled. But she wanted it. The cadence of his bucking hips shifted, slowing while growing yet more forceful, timing it so that each heavy gob was deposited as deeply as her body would allow without lasting damage. Mel moved with him, rocking her pelvis to the rhythm he laid out.

Agitating the cum-streaked water between his legs, her tail thrashed. Her legs tried to tie themselves in a knot behind his back. While her stretched folds ached and strained around his behemoth member she mewled against his neck, slurring the sounds of her pleasure into his damp, silken fur. She peaked, but the mountain quickly became a plateau, and she rode out her rapture, only breathing when the volcanic cock left room in her chest to fill her lungs. The feeling was incandescent, as if she was basking on the sun. Her skin almost hurt. It felt taut on her stiff physique. The tips of her tapered ears tingled with half-numb sensation, as did her hands and feet and the rest of her extremities.

The feeling of limp exhaustion gradually worked its way inward, in spite of how much she railed against it. She rallied her focus, tried to hold on, but her body betrayed her. Mel crashed. Her arms and legs went slack, and she sagged in Toby's grip. Her lungs pumped like bellowed to feed her fatigue, to keep her conscious, and her eyes closed to shield them from the glare of a sun that abruptly seemed too bright to be possible. The big horse held her there regardless, but his arms loosened slightly, dipping her an inch deeper into the water before his lips could trail their way across her snout.

While her mind tried to rationalize the cataract of needling ecstasy that poured through her, welling up from her core in surging waves, Toby's motions slowed. He kissed her almost cautiously, he brushed the damp hair from her eyes, and he gave her just a few slower, yearning thrusts before he began to withdraw. As his immense flare dragged against her velvet walls, she squirmed and moaned at the sensation of hollowness filled the space in her loins that had been wholly devoted to wrapping intimately around his enormous cock. He freed his flesh from hers with a single, lazy pull, and she spasmed when his swollen glans popped free of her, releasing a miniature flood of pearly white to leak from her abused nethers. "Oh, Gods, Toby..." she mewled, swallowing hard around a dry patch in her throat. "Give me a minute... I... Fuck..."

Toby laughed and rolled over, flopping onto his back and dragging her up onto his chest, where she laid, prostrate on his firm physique. She couldn't miss the playful twinkle in his eye as he lifted her on his chest with his deep, heavy breaths. "Tired out already? I expected better."

With an elbow in his ribcage, she pushed herself upright and straddled his waist. "I... I said a minute, not a day, horselips. You just... sit there and wait while I figure out what to do with you."

Before she could react, his hands snapped to her wrists and twisted her arms behind her back. He pulled her down, plastering her against his chest and pinning her there, unable to do much but thrash against him. "Hmm... maybe tomorrow. For now... I believe I'm still the victor, correct?"

With her arms still trapped in one of his hands, his other danced across her hip and down her leg, leaving lines of effervescence on her oversensitive skin. She struggled, but perhaps not as vigorously as she could have. "I guess so, but you better do something with it, horselips, or I'm going to start taking chunks." To punctuate, she let her lips linger on his chest and pushed forward, pressing her teeth against his muscle in a silent warning.

He acquiesced and released her arms, but kept a hand trapping her to his torso. "What's the rush? Like I said, we've all the time we need."