The Fire of My Heart

by Alpha Protocol

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Romance
Length: 6365

A short story featuring Jasper, a young kirin, and his quest for love.

Love is a mysterious thing that can strike when you least expect it. Jasper is immediately smitten upon seeing Nadia, a kirin female from another tribe. Though she doesn't seem interested in him, he attempts to win her heart.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-03-29 00:39:52 UTC

The Fire of My Heart

Boring. So, so very boring these meetings were. And his father had to drag him along to it. Jasper sat one one of many mats within the home of one of the neighboring cheifs. A young kirin stallion of only eighteen years. He didn't even bother listening to what they were talking about. He only wanted to leave and returne home where he could entertain himself with sport or metalworking. The art was one of few things that the young heir had a passion for.

"I hope you're paying attention, Jasper." His father said. "Keeping the relationship between flights is hardly a matter to be neglected."

Jasper simply sighed. "Of course, father." He says, rolling his eyes. His father, being Jasper of Summer's End, Seventh of his name, (but in the interest of expediency, we shall call him Jasper VII.) Places a clawed appendage on his son's head.

"You may not understand the importance now, but I guarantee that by the time you have reached my age, you will wonder why you ever questioned your aging father." Jasper rolled his eyes again, by now surely becoming dizzy from seeing the world spin. "Come, we are finished here." Jasper VII says, leading his son out of the home and back out into the settlement of Wavebreak.

One would be able to tell little difference between this settlement and any other fishing town in the old world. The key differences being that there were no permanent housings to be seen, much like the rest of the Fringe, excluding Dust of course. Jasper VII pats his son's shoulder. "It will be a while still until we leave for Firelight, go and have some time to yourself." He urges. Jasper's eyes light up as he is given leeway to do as he pleased for the time being and took as much advantage of it as he could.

There were a couple of passing friends that he wanted to see. Having little other chance to do so. The Moonlit always seemed to be the furthest from the Stonetalon on most occasions, so this was a rare opportunity. He took to walking atop the wooden walls, casting his gaze at his fellow children passing below him. However, he saw a sight that would put off his search for his friends.

She stood by a leatherworker, blue hair like the night sky barely shading her eyes, which were like finely cut amber. And her white, opalescent scales only made her stand out even more among the Children that passed her by. Jasper nearly lost his balance at the sight of her. She looked as if the Mother of Flame had crafted her by her own good graces. He had to know her name. He just had to stay calm and collected.

He jumped down from his perch and landed with a drumroll as each set of claws impacted the ground. He made his way through and around passing Children until she was within earshot. "And when shall I tell my father to collect it?" She asked the leatherworker with a voice that was like soft cloth to the ears. It was very clear now that he was very much stricken with affection for her. He only now needed her name.

"... Is there a something you need help with?" The kirin mare asked Jasper, who only now realized that he had been rudely staring for the past few moments.

"O-Oh! No- I mean, yes. That is..." Jasper breathed in and stopped his stammering. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Jasper of Frostscale, Eighth of my name." He smoothly and politely spoke the words as was custom.

"Nadia of Sun's Warmth." She says a bit awkwardly. She eyes Jasper with a curious look. "Is there something you need of me, Sir Jasper? I'm quite busy with my chores."

"Oh, I don't mean to keep you. It's just that, you caught my gaze as I passed by and I-"

"Allow me to stop you there, Sir Jasper." Nadia interrupted. "I have no interest in your courtship. My time and attention is already given to another."

"... Oh..." Jasper spoke, a bit heartbroken. The leatherworker let out a snicker at the exchange. "My apologies then, Lady Nadia." He continued. Without another word he turned and tried his best to blend in with the crowd, a bit embarrassed with himself. That was not at all how he was expecting that exchange to go. However, he did get her name. And it was just as beautiful as the rest of her.

"There you are, son!" Jasper VII calls from afar. "We must be off! Come gather your things!" Jasper was confident that he would not see a gem like Nadia again. But there were plenty of others to fall in love with in his own Flight. It would be more convenient that way. However, Jasper did not know that love was anything but convenient.

Something I said?

Firelight Outpost was still in its infancy, barely more than wooden walls held together with strong rope. A quaint little place that vaguely resembled Wavebreak in that there were no permanent housings set up. Only tents and small huts built from the vegetation.

Jasper had only just gotten done with his duties helping ome of the smiths with making braces for the walls. He was excited because tonight the some of the nearby flights were coming to the outpost by his father's invitation. There were to be a great number of attractions to be set up, from food stalls to games and everything in between. And the best part? He wouldn't have to be dragged around by his father.

That night, Jasper was joined by his good friend Atlas, a Kirin stallion of goldenrod scales and white mane. He was thinner than most, but no less able to pull his own weight or hold out in a fight. It was to be admitted that Atlas was also much more knowledgeable than Jasper, being steward to one of the scribes of the flight.

"Come on! We'll be late!" Atlas encouraged Jasper to hurry as surely by now there was an arena set up for fights.

"IIt won't matter." Jasper boasted. "I can beat anyone in the flight, or any of the other flights attending for that matter."

"You're just lucky that the Blooded aren't here to put your words where your mouth are." Atlas replied.

The two arrived to a small crowd gathered around a dirt ring. Jasper and Atlas had to squeeze in to get to a spot where they could see, just in time to watch a blue blur fly across the ring and land unceremoniously in the turf. On the other side, the one doing the throwing was a burly black stallion with tan mane and tail.

"He's beaten six so far." One of the bystanders said, filling Jasper and Atlas in on what they missed. Jasper watched as he gloated about his victory. He flexed his muscles and gave the crowd a bit of a laugh. And them he went off to the sideline. And that was when Jasper saw her. Again.

Jasper smacked his friend's chest in urgency, causing him to let out a grunt. "That's her!" He shouts, barely audible over the crowd and pointed in Nadia's direction. "That's the one I told you about!"

Atlas rubbed his chest and looked to where Jasper was pointing. "Her?" He asked. He let out a whistle. "Wow. Just as lovely as you described. Too bad that she has her eye on another."

Jasper deadpanned. "You had to remind me?" He watched as the victor from the last match approached Nadia and began speaking with her. She looked as though she didn't really want to be associated with him. She avoided eye contact, but never looked down. She wore one of those expressions that Jasper's mother wore when she was tired of hearing some kind of excuse from his father.

"No one coming to her aid it seems." Atlas noted.

"Do you think I should?" Jasper asked.

"Better you than some other one who thinks himself fit for her." Atlas replied, giving Jasper a bit of a push in Nadia's direction.

Jasper took the hint with stride and made his way around through the crowd to where Nadia and the other stallion were speaking.

"It was really nothing. He might have been a challenge for me, but he held himself to heavily on his front side." The stallion said.

"Oh I'm sure it must have been easy for you." Nadia said rather disinterested.

"There you are!" Jasper called. "Been looking all over for you! I believe the kebabs are about to run out, so we'll have to hurry if we want to get some." Jasper wrapped a leg around Nadia's shoulder and before she could even protest, led her away from the burly fighter.

As soon as they were out of sight around one of the tents, Nadia removed herself from Jasper's grasp. "I think that will be convincing enough." She said a bit crassly.

Jasper let out a nervous chuckle. "Apologies. You seemed uncomfortable, and I thought I would assist you."

Nadia seemed to let her guard down a bit. "Right. Thank you for that, ummm."

"You don't remember me?" Jasper said with a small grin on his face.

"I can't say that I do."

"Jasper? Of Frostscale?" He said. "We first met a couple of weeks ago. You were speaking with the leathersmith."

"Oh..."

"You rejected me quite rapidly."

"... OH!..." Nadia's eyes shot wide open at the remembrance of who Jasper was. "I am so sorry! I didn't realize!"

Jasper waved it off. "All is well. I simply wanted to do you a favor. Buuutt..."

Nadia looked curiously at Jasper. "But?"

"But I happened to notice the certain lack of 'another'." Jasper noted. "Surely the fortunate stallion did not leave a mare to travel all this way without him."

Nadia stared daggers at Jasper. "You assume that 'a mare' cannot take care of herself? That is a rather chauvinistic viewpoint, is it not?"

"W-Wait, that is not what I meant."

"Thank you for your assistance, Sir Jasper. Now if you will excuse me, I have a festival to enjoy." And with a flick of her tail, Nadia strutted away, not bothering to look back.

"Hold on! I didn't... Mean... It..." Aaaaand she was gone... Jasper frowned in anger. He was so furiously annoyed with himself right now. He went trudging back to Atlas in the crowd by the arena.

"How did it go?" Atlas asked with a hopeful grin.

"I think I am making progress." Jasper said.

A decision made

"I'm going to do it, Altas."

"Do what, Jasper?"

"I am going to court her!"

"I'm not so sure that is a good idea." Atlas looked up from a stack of paper that he was studying to watch Jasper hammer away at a chunk of metal.

"Why not?" Jasper asks. "She cleary has no one else courting her, else they would be here with her."

"That is flawed logic if ever I heard it." Atlas states, looking at Jasper with a judgemental gaze.

"I can't help it, Atlas!" Jasper says, stopping his work. "IIt was love at first sight for me! I've never felt like this about anyone before! I must make her mine! She is more beautiful than the Mother herself!"

"That's blasphemy, Jasper." Atlas stated matter of factly, but rather flatly as well.

"Then may I be damned for eternity."

"You are forgetting one complication." Atlas said.

"And what is that?"

"She is of the Ocean flight, and they return to Wavebreak on the morrow. You can't very well leave your duties here to be with her, can you?"

"..."

"... Jasper?"

"..."

"Jasper that wasn't a challenge!"

"..."

"Dammit, Jasper!"

After an extensive talk with his father, explaining his situation and feelings, Jasper was granted a month to go to Wavebreak and attempt to win his love. He left confidently with the rest of the flights as they all departed Firelight Outpost.

And now he was once again in Wavebreak, only with a purpose this time. He would do whatever it took to win Nadia's heart! He swore on his life! For now, however he had not but a single tent and a small amount of rations to his name. And finding a spot to set up was proving difficult. Eventually he found a space that an aging couple was willing to share. It was close to the water, and very near to the edge of the settlement, but at least it was something.

The business of the next day was to actually find Nadia. And the best place to do that would be the spot where he first saw her. He perched on the same wall and watched, waiting impatiently to see if she would come into sight. Unfortunately for Jasper, she never did.

The Duel

Four days had passed already and Jasper was having no luck. He didn't see Nadia anywhere. He was beginning to loose hope, but he had gotten a few pointers from the elderly stallion whom was lending him his living space. He learned a few valuable tips, if he wanted Nadia to be his, he would have to impress her. And the best way to go about doing that was to prove you were exceptionally strong.

And there were a few ways to go about doing that. The first of which he would try would be finding a strong opponent and beating them in combat. And he discovered that a fellow named Dune was one of the best fighters in Wavebreak. As it just so happened, Dune was the one that Jasper 'rescued' Nadia from during the celebration in Firelight Outpost. A strong warrior, but not too terribly intelligent.

As it happened, on the fifth day, Jasper did see Nadia again. She was out above the water, harpooning fish. Just as beautiful and majestic as she had ever looked. And he had actively sought out Dune soon afterwards, challenging him to a match by the water. He picked out a spot where she would definitely notice the fight. Nothing personal against Dune, but he had something to prove. And it would be good to befriend such a strong kirin through combat in any case.

"I hope you are ready for defeat." Dune taunted. Word had spread about Dune's challenger and a small posse had already followed the black stallion to the beachfront.

Jasper smirked at Dune. "I think I will surprise you." He said. "I have someone I'm trying to impress."

"Oh really? Then this will be an interesting bout."

The fight started out slow, Jasper moving out of the way of Dune's attacks at first and getting in a few hits of his own. But unlike any old world fight, this one would last far past simple bruises. After about two minutes, first blood was drawn. Jasper had taken a nasty claw to his hind leg, but he got in his own few claws for hits as well. After five minutes had passed, there was a fair amount more blood soaking into the sand.

Seven minutes and Dune was finally starting to look like he was ready to give up. He had already looked like he had bitten off more than he could chew with Jasper. "Give up yet?" Jasper asked with a heavy breath.

"Never." Dune replied with a smirk.

Jasper smiled. "Good." A few more minutes pass and between the blood and the few scales that littered the sand, that part of the beach was beginning to become unrecognizable. At least the crowd was loving it. Between their best fighter and Jasper, the fight was more than enough entertainment. And Jasper was really making a name for himself here.

All he needed to do now was--.

Everything goes dark. All is quiet now. Is he dead? No, he begins hearing a voice. ".... up... -ke up..." What are they trying to tell him? "Come on now, wake up." Jasper opens his eyes and sees the sky, clouds soaring high above beneath The Mother's warm sun. Another stallion comes into focus, blue of scale and black of mane. "Are you alright?" He asks.

"Did I win?" Jasper asks in return.

"Aaahhhh... No. You did not."

Suddenly the sting of his injuries hurt much more along with a side of defeat. He notices another plugging his open wounds with cloth to stop bleeding to keep him alive. "Good display, though." The stallion said. "You gave Dune a run for his honor. No one yet has lasted that long against him."

Jasper rolled his eyes and swore he saw a white blur just a few more feet away. Right before he lost consciousness again.

A Challenge

The sun shone down on Wavebreak today, nearly two weeks after Jasper had set out. He only had two more weeks to convince Nadia that he was worthy of her. And speaking of Nadia, the opalescent scaled kirin happened to be sitting at the end of a short pier, sunbathing. She listened to the sound of the water as the wind disturbed the surface. The warm sun on her back sending her into a comfortable dream-state. She dreamed of being underwater, the currents washing over her like wind below the surface. The fish and aquatic creatures passing her by as they swam in a void of blue.

Someone coughs, her sleep is only slightly disturbed but she goes back to her dream-scape. Again a heavy cough, and now her underwater world is only darkness. She groans and readjusts herself. *WHAM* He head shoots up with a yelp. She looks at the edge of the pier. A lone set of claws is clutching at the side, the coughing coming from below. Very soon, a familiar green figure pulls himself up over the edge, coughing up water and gasping for breath.

"Jasper?!" Nadia cries out, reaching to help pull him up.

Jasper takes the help and flops onto the pier, then looks angrily at Nadia. "HERE-- *COUGH*COUGH*HACK*-- ARE YOUR DAMNED SALT WEEDS!" *COUGH* He slams the bundle of wet, green plants on the pier and goes back to coughing his lungs out.

Nadia takes the weeds and looks at Jasper awkwardly. "Are you alright?!" She asks.

"I'm just fine!" Jasper says, his fit subsiding. "I always enjoy drowning before breakfast! It's a hobby of mine!"

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you." Nadia said teasingly. "Well, you got it. Would you care to smoke with me?"

Jasper looked up at Nadia quizzically. "You smoke this?"

"When I can." Nadia replies. She helps him up onto his feet and gestures towards the settlement. "Come. I've a waterpipe set up already."

Jasper coughs up the last bit of water from his lungs and follows Nadia as she begins to walk away. "... Waterpipe?"

Jasper took a breath from the hose, cool smoke filling his mouth. It tasted of salt water and herb. Much different from smoking a pipe like he was used to. "This is good." He said, letting the smoke filter out of his mouth and nostrils as he spoke.

"I'm glad you like it." Nadia said, taking a breath from her own hose. "Salt weed is my favorite herb to smoke. The flavor reminds me of what it's like to be underwater. Without drowning out course." That last statement was a clear jab at Jasper.

"You told me it was at the bottom." He said with an irked tone. "You didn't say how deep the bottom would be. It was freezing down there!"

Nadia laughed. "And still you retrieved it." She lay across the thick grass. The two of them were actually sat outside of a wooden shack where the fish caught was smoked so that it wouldn't spoil. A cloud passed by the sun, giving them temporary shade. "Why did you come down here from Firelight?" She asked. "Surely it wasn't just for me."

"But it was for you." Jasper stated. "When I saw you, it was love at first sight. I have no reservations about it. It is simply how I feel."

"At least you are honest with yourself." Nadia said. "And you nearly defeated Dune, which speaks volumes of your endurance. I think any mare would be lucky to have you. But I have much higher standards than just any mare."

"I can meet them!" Jasper said confidently. "I could do anything in your name!"

Nadia shrugged then looked out among the settlement. "Do you know of the Glowstone that forms in a cave near here?" She asks.

Jasper thinks. "I believe I have heard of it." He says. "I have never actually seen it myself."

Nadia takes a breath from her hose and slowly breathes out the smoke. "If a marriage proposal is what you seek, then you will go and retrieve one of these stones..."

"That is easy."

"From the cave in the bottom of the water..."

"... Wait, the same water that I just--"

"Along with a tooth from the creature that guards it." Nadia finally concluded.

"Are you mad?!" Jasper questions Nadia, who in turn giggles.

"If you do not believe you can do it, then I suppose you don't really wish to marry me." She teases, holding up her claws and observing them in the sunlight. "Such a shame, we could have had such beautiful children as well."

Jasper was just offended now. And he had something else to prove. "Very well, I will do it." He said, a determination in his eyes.

Nadia, looked at him half in disbelief. "You will?"

"Yes! I will." Jasper stated. "And when I return with both stone and tooth, I will take you as my wife!" He was standing now, his voice raised to the point that everyone in the immediate vicinity heard what he had said. They started to murmur now, which made Jasper a bit uncomfortable.

"I..." Nadia started, but couldn't finish what she wanted to say. She was awestruck by the sudden burst of confidence in this fool of a stallion before her. "... Very well then." She said. "If you should return victorious... I will accept your proposal..."

Jasper nodded and hurried of back to his tent. He didn't want to wast a single second of his time. He only had a short few days before he needed to return home, and he wasn't going back without his prize.

Into the maw

Jasper returned to the beach side, a spear strapped to his back and a small satchel he would use to carry the items he set out to retrieve. He was able to find out the location of the cave, so at least he wouldn't be scouring for it all day and drowning himself. He looked back, Nadia was standing behind him, with a few others as well. He assumed they were friends of hers. In any case, he had no time to waste. He took a deep breath and dove into the water.

The deeper into the blue he went, the colder the water got. And the colder it got, the darker it got. There was soon very little light to aid him. He found his single breath fading, he needed to find this cave soon... There it was! There was a large opening that he could clearly see. He swam for it, entering and making his way into the large tunnel. But his breath was fading, he needed air, else he would drown in this place. He looked up for a pocket, anything that would allow him a breath, but he saw nothing. There was a light further down the tunnel, he made haste towards it, clawing at the walls of the tunnel to propel him faster. Everything was going dark. He would not die here.

*GASP!* Jasper took a breath as he breached the surface. His breathing was labored, but at least he was alive. What was this light?... Oh. He looked all around him and saw crystals shining like starlight along the walls. Sparkling blues and purples. They did indeed glow all on their own. Perhaps some sort of magic imbued within them.

He walked, in awe of the geode he had walked right into. He had never seen something of this size before. The crystalline structures stabbing from the cave walls like spines. But he didn't want to pick just any single one. It had to be the right one. One worthy of Nadia.

His ears turned when he heard an echo, his head soon following them. That's right, there was supposed to be some kind of creature guarding this place. His eyes scanned the cave, peering between the stalagmites, looking for his foe. The echo was behind him again, he turned his head to the noise. He could not see anything. This was beginning to worry him. Had Nadia sent him to his death? He felt something between his feet and jumped! Where was it?! He pulled his spear from his back and readied himself.

Finally, there was a light chirping just in front of him, right there on the ground, a small, lizard like creature. Long snout, four legs. No wings to speak of. It looked vaguely like some of the lizards he liked to eat up as snacks. "You're hardly a guardian." Jasper says to the creature, picking it up by the tail. "More like lunch." He smirked and breathed a long, hot breath of fire over the lizard. It squealed in pain, but soon died. Jasper simply dropped the thing into his mouth, and chewed happily.

Until a new sound interrupted him that is. A lower, much more threatening growl echoed through the cavern. Jasper's eyes shot wide open and he gulped. There was a thud, and the sound of crystals shattering behind him. The growling only became louder and it became apparent after the second sound of shattering that these were footsteps of something very large. He turned slowly towards the sound. It would not be difficult to see the giant, long-snouted, jagged toothed, leathery skinned creature that was now staring him in the face.

Jasper stood as still as stone, gazing at the creature. It's long body reminiscent of the small lizard creature that he had just eaten. It's tail was increasingly threatening as he looked at it, tipped with sharp looking spines. Finally the creature let out a loud roar that rang Jasper's ears as much as it rang the crystals, causing them to quake in fear of the monstrosity. Jasper dodged the tail as it came crashing towards him by flying upwards to the short roof of the cavern. But he had to go back to ground level as the tail came rushing after him once again, crashing into the ceiling and sending a rain of crystals showering down.

Jasper readied his spear again and charged as soon as he saw an opening, stabbing into the thick hide of the monster. This proved to be a poorly thought out idea as the spear immediately became stuck in the hide, try as he may to pull it back out again. He had to abandon his weapon as a set of claws came right for him. And then he was dodging teeth and tail, claw and spike, desperately trying not to die in this moment. "The Mother damn that mare!" He shouted as he ran from certain doom.

All the while this was happening, the beast was dislodging, breaking and shattering crystals as it attacked. Jasper heard a distinct jingling from above. He looked up, seeing a large, crystal covered stalactite shaking in place. It looked like it might dislodge at any moment. That would be his only chance at surviving this. He tried to keep the monster underneath it, watching carefully as the stalactite shook, slowly cracking at its base.

"Come on you damned beast!" He taunted. There was a snap, the monster charged Jasper again. A crash, sending up a cloud of dust. The monster's roaring had ceased, leaving only the echo of the fight lingering in the air.

The dust began to clear and Jasper observed the gigantic stalactite lodged straight through the monster's neck. He heaved a sigh of relief, having finally defeated the monster. Now he needed to get one of it's teeth. Jasper took one of the smaller front teeth, as the ones nearer to the rear were nearly the size of his whole head. A few firm kicks and it broke right out of place. He looked the tooth over, it would do nicely as a trophy. And now he Just needed the glowstone.

A bright shimmering caught his eye overhead. From where the stalactite had fallen, a single gem shone brighter and whiter than all the rest. He flew up to it, gazing at how unique it was. It was perfect. He grabbed it and found it remarkably easy to remove from its place. He landed and stowed the stone away, along with the tooth as proof of his victory. The swim back would be nothing after this.

Meanwhile, on the surface, Nadia was waiting by the beach where Jasper had left. A small group waited to see if he would even come back. Many had heard the tale about the monster that guarded the glowstone cavern. And a few had already placed bets that Jasper was already dead. However, a break in the water far offshore signified that Jasper was indeed alive! Nadia watched as Jasper came swimming back to shore with ecstatic eyes.

Jasper crawled onto the beach and was immediately crowded by Children wanting to know if he was successful, if he killed the beast, if he got the stone. Jasper waded through the crowd to Nadia, took her clawed foot, and placed the shining gem in her grasp. He then took the satchel and dumped large tooth from within, resulting in gasps of awe and intrigue.

"Nadia of Sun's Warmth." He started. "Would you do me the ultimate honor of being my wife?"

Nadia herself was still a bit in shock that Jasper was actually able to pull it off. He defeated the monster, retrieved the glowstone, and had basically won her heart right then and there. It would have been completely stupid to say anything except for "Yes." The resulting cheering was almost as loud as the monster's roar. A wedding party was in order. And the Children loved a wedding party more than any other pass time.

Celebration

Jasper managed to have a scroll sent to his father, inviting him and his mother to the wedding. They were in Wavebreak the very next day. The festivities were going splendidly. Food consisted of finely seasoned crystal cave monster, some of the Children were playing music. There was dancing, games, fermented drink, fights, and so much more that one could experience.

The not-so-young-anymore Jasper introduced Nadia to his parents, as well as her own parents. They all got along jovially, enjoying the revels of the wedding. Jasper did have to slip away from his father once he started trying to give "pointers" on how to "perform". Never in his life did he ever want to hear such things described in such detail. Much less from his father.

He ran into Nadia, who seemed to be escaping from a similar situation with her mother. Both of the betrothed blushed from both embarrassment and drink. Jasper let out a sigh. "Having fun I hope?"

Nadia nodded and chuckled. "Very much so, yes." She said. "If they keep wearing us out like this, I'm not sure how we'll be able to fight."

"I know what you mean." Jasper said. "Well, is there anything you wanted to do before then?"

Nadia rubbed her cheek as she thought. "One thing, yes." She leaned in and gave Jasper a sweet kiss, her eyes closed as did so. Jasper just went along with it, more than happy to kiss his wife to be.

"Hey!" A voice called. "They're trying to go at it before the fight!" Jasper and Nadia looked at the eyes that were on them now, hoots and hollers not being spared in the least bit. Quickly they were literally carried off to the makeshift arena that had been set up specifically for the occasion.

Jasper and Nadia were plopped down at either side of the ring, and the Ocean flight leader stood between them. He gave a short speech about two souls joining under the watch of The Mother of Flame, how they would live eternally together, even after death. He gave a blessing of health for the two of them, and then with a fierce and enthusiastic voice, declared the fight started!

Nadia winked at Jasper and then the two began their bout. It was as rough as any other, the goal of which being to bring the other to bleed first. A swipe of claws that scratch against scales, a trip with the tail, and finally, the fight ends as Nadia plants her sharp teeth straight into Jasper's shoulder, just below the neck. The bite was so hard in fact, that it actually sent blood flying a few feet away. Jasper of course yelped in pain. But the crowd of Children gathered round thought it was amazing!

Nadia finally lets go and Jasper grabs at his shoulder. He was pretty sure that at least a single bone was broken after that. But he hardly cared, the adrenaline running through him right now would dull it enough. The flight leader declared Nadia the winner of the fight and granted her the right to take Jasper's blood. She happily obliged, lapping up the red mess that she had made of him. "Does it hurt?" She asks, licking the red from her lips.

What a silly question. "No, I think you should have bitten harder." Jasper says sarcastically."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you." Nadia says, going back to drinking her lover's blood from his would. Soon thereafter, Nadia dressed the injury neatly with some bandage and healing salve. They ate some more and drank some more, but by the end of it, all they wanted was to have each other to themselves.

The party wasn't even beginning to wind down in the middle of the night when Jasper and Nadia decided to retire to their own tent, set up especially for the occasion. It belonged to them now, it would likely be where they lived until such time they decided to either have a new one made, or circumstances required it. But Jasper couldn't help but notice how much it was made to be as "comfortable" as possible. Candles were already lit, there was a spacious and liberally cushioned bedroll, and the place was much more decorative than your average living area.

Nadia was the first to flop into the cushions, and made it very apparent that she wanted her stallion there with her, right now. The consummation was about as violent as the fight had been, minus the injuries of course. It was pure, animalistic, unrestrained love.

Jasper and Nadia now lay in each other's grasp beneath thick fur blankets, their marriage officially sealed. Too exhausted to speak, they simply lay there close to each other. Soon thereafter they fell asleep and dreamed of one another. A good omen, signifying that their marriage transcend life itself and they would be together throughout the afterlife.

END

Salt Weed

Jasper was sat just inside the portal of his tent this morning, letting his injuries heal from the bout that he had partaken in only a couple of days prior. It had only been a week and already he was beaten worse than he had ever been before. He still hurt in places where he was waiting for scales to grow back and if he ever wished to go anywhere, if would be more of a hobble than a walk.

But if his host was to be believed, he definitely made an impression. The only one that mattered to him was Nadia though, and he couldn't even manage to go down to where he had seen her harpooning fish before. But it appeared he wouldn't have to. He saw that familiar and welcomed white figure. Had it not hurt so much, he would have dashed straight for her.

He settled for a quickened limp.

"Nadia!" He called as he hobbled over to the mare.

Nadia stopped and looked at Jasper with curious eyes that then looked only more intrigued at his recognition. "Jasper..." She said. Jasper inwardly cheered at the fact that she remembered his name. "You don't give up easily it seems." She continued, then smiled. "That is a good quality to have."

Jasper chuckled. "You seem to be thinking differently of me than you used to."

Nadia chuckled in turn. "I was perhaps a bit rash with my thinking when we last met." She said. "I saw your fight by the way."

Jasper held his head up high at the mention of the fight. "You did?"

"Yes." Nadia said. "Did you really think that you would beat our greatest warrior? That was quite foolish."

"I had hoped." Jasper admitted. "But then, you do foolish things when you're in love."

Nadia stayed quiet and the moment suddenly got extremely awkward. "Oh, uh, that is to say." Jasper stammered for the words. "I had hoped to make a lasting impression on you."

"... You have." Nadia said. "I need to go..." She paused, and looked Jasper over with her eyes. "If you wish to speak to me again, bring me some salt weed." She pointed towards the water. "It grows at the bottom of the water. Pick it when you're feeling well enough." She walks away with a smile, leaving a half stupified Jasper in her wake.

Jasper watches her leave until she is completely out of sight. "YE-OW!" Too painful to cheer. He grips at his side and limps back to his tent. What the heck was a salt weed anyway?