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Kalira stirred from sleep with the stinging feeling of sparks rushing over her hooves, crackling heat infringing upon her mind. She shook herself, ears folding back, and opened her eyes, feeling a rush of fierce, predatory joy in her mind - not hers, but not truly her Chosen’s, either. It fell swiftly away into a surge of panic from Lavan, followed by pain that stung her hard, making her heart race and her legs tremble.Her Chosen, struggling to control his Gift, and his own fear only spurring it to greater fervour, fiercer heat. It was trying to protect him as much as Kalira did herself, but its mindless ferocity made it unstable.:Lavan. . .: she called through their bond, trying first to soothe him. If she could bring calm to his nightmares, the storm in his mind, his Gift would subside and he would rest easy once more. Kalira could watch over his dreams and keep him safe.
:Kalira?:
Kalira shook herself, tail flicking, and ignored her sire’s voice. She had spent the evening visiting in Companion Field, then dozed off as the night grew late, and while her Chosen was near, the Collegium a close shadow over them. . . Not near enough.A wretched cry lanced through her mind and tore at her heart, and Kalira was no longer ignoring any soft murmurs or concern from those around her, she could hear nothing, feel nothing, save her Chosen’s distress and the driving need to get to him. She threaded among the herd without thinking, barely aware of leaping over a mare lying on the grass with her foal, and burst into a run. There would be no soothing Lavan back into peaceful dreams tonight, it seemed; if she didn’t wake him now. . .:Lavan! Chosen!: Kalira curled her mindvoice inwards and used her aching love and deep need to protect him as a prism, amplifying it until it became a clarion call filling the space the flaming dragon that was Lavan’s Gift had tried to steal.Kalira leapt the fence without pausing - the fence around Companion Field was a marker, not a boundary, but she would have found her way across any and all of the city’s curtain walls if she had to in her race to her Chosen’s side. :Lavan! Beloved-:Barely slowing as she approached, Kalira skidded into the small alcove tucked alongside Lavan’s room and nearly hit the outer wall of the Collegium dormitory before she could stop. Inside, she could feel the ripple of her Chosen fighting his own Gift, leaning on her strength, reaching for her.:I am here.: Kalira assured him, pouring her love into him, over him, and curling her mind around his, soothing the searing fury of his Gift and giving him the distance he needed to bring it under control. :All is well, beloved.:Lavan struggled out of bed, still half asleep, and Kalira stretched out her neck, turning and shifting her hooves as she waited for him to slip out through the heavy door. He stumbled, shaking, flushed and feverish, and Kalira fenced away her protective fury before he could feel it - his Gift was part of him, she could hold it at bay and help him master it but it could not ever be parted from him - and moved to catch him against her shoulder.:Kalira.: Lavan’s mindvoice was thin and quiet, but the dragon within his mind was sinking away once more, quiescent. He buried his face in her neck, his breathing ragged and hard, on the verge of sobbing. :I. . . I’m sorry.:Kalira’s nostrils flared as she snorted forcefully, tucking her head over her Chosen’s shoulder and drawing him in. :No, beloved.: she reminded him, feathering affection through their bond as he wrapped his arms around her neck. :I am here. Always.*:*Lavan clung to her more tightly, and Kalira carefully shifted, folding her legs to drop as slowly as she could, bringing Lavan along with her. She nuzzled along his shoulder and lipped his hair, and he tucked his face just behind her jaw.:**My Chosen.: Kalira murmured, twining her mind with his, wrapping him in her love and urging it to soothe the raw edges of his mindscape, damaged by the uncontrolled fury of his Gift.‟Kalira.” Lavan said softly, stroking her face, snuggling into her. ‟Thank you, love.” *:Thank you always.::I have you.: Kalira promised, nudging him back towards sleep. :Stay here with me, beloved.:*Lavan sighed, not quite words, and nodded. He would sleep in the shelter of her body as well as her mind every night, were it feasible, Kalira knew. She arched her neck under Lavan’s touch as he curled his fingers into her mane; she would like that as well. Kalira soothed him to sleep on a gentle ripple of words and always the boundless, devoted love she felt for him.:Kalira, are you all right?: Satiran called, and Kalira whickered, nosing Lavan’s side, her focus still on her Chosen, though his sleep was peaceful now, and the tight focus demanded by wrestling with his Gift - giving him the strength to fight it back - gone.:We are fine.: Kalira assured her sire after a few more minutes, twitching her tail and resettling her legs carefully. :My Chosen needed me.:Satiran’s response was not offered in words, and Kalira ignored the concern and unease he sent, though she returned the affection.:I do not need to be fretted over.: Kalira reminded him, but gently. Her sire loved her, she knew, but she had made her Choice and she was quite old enough to protect herself - and her Chosen.Satiran didn’t press any further, and Kalira let all of her focus curl inwards upon Lavan and the bond between them, immutable and incandescent. :I have you, my Chosen, my beloved,: Kalira murmured, more to herself than her sleeping Chosen, :and that shall never change.:Though deeply asleep, Lavan responded to her voice, stirring and smoothing his palm over her neck, his adoration spilling out to mesh with her own. Kalira shivered, feeling it like the warmth of the sun, and let her head settle lightly against Lavan’s hip.