Disclaimer: I own nothing and only borrowed these characters for a little while.

The night was drawing to a close when Nawat rose from his seat on the bench and moved to stand behind Aly. Resting his hands on his wife's shoulders he squeezed them gently. His loved one turned her face up to his and smiled briefly before turning back to her mother.

Content she would be ready to leave soon, Nawat discovered that he had drawn the attention of another person. Standing not far from him was Numair Salmalín, Aly's adoptive uncle. It wasn't the powerful mage who stared at him though. It was the toddler at his feet.

Sarralyn Salmalín had one arm hooked around her father's leg as she looked up at the tall man before her with a focused expression on her face. Nawat crouched down to be at the child's height though he maintained his distance.

Her forehead creased as the gaze of the crow-man and baby wildmage held. A few moments longer and the little girl beamed. "Crow!" she exclaimed in a loud voice pointing to Nawat with a determined air.

"That's right chick," said the man reaching out his hand. "I used to be a crow."

The night drew to an end when his adopted niece and her husband left in secret. As everyone prepared to leave, Numair reached down for his inquisitive daughter. His long fingers plucked her from the ground and he held her against his chest.

As farewells were exchanged Sarralyn Salmalín yawned, her small mouth opening and closing before her hands clenched her father's shirt and she burrowed her head into the crook of her Da's neck.

With one hand rubbing soothing motions up and down his daughter's back, Numair's sharp eyes caught Kitten reaching for one of the ornately carved ornaments resting on the table against the wall and warned her off. Miffed at being told off, the dragon whined in response before her silver claws clattered across the tiles as she made her away over to Daine.

When the dragon nudged Daine's side with her muzzle and trilled unhappily, her scales red with sulking, Daine looked down confused before lifting her eyes to Numair's. Seeing his rolling eyes as she shifted Rikash to rest against her shoulder she grinned. What had Kitten done this time? She swore that sometimes they had three children, not two.

With both Sarralyn and Rikash down to sleep on the small bunk they shared on the boat, their Ma and Da finally had an opportunity to talk. "She's so young," said Daine softly on Aly's new life as she unpinned her hair.

Numair snorted. "And you were such an old hag yourself when you started," he responded sarcastically as he clasped her shoulders. She gave him a half-hearted push back against his chest in retaliation at the insult.

Sparing a glance to the small bed with their two small children slept on, Daine shivered. "I feel for Alanna and George," the Wildmage said. "I can't imagine leaving Sarralyn or Rikash in another country and leaving to go home."

"It won't happen for some years yet," soothed Numair as he ran his hands down his wife's arms. Clasping her fingers he crossed their arms across her chest and rested his chin on her head as they both looked at their children.

Finito.