A/N: Why hello Immortals fandom! First off, I just wanted to say thanks for being curious and clicking on my story! I hope that I can do Tammy's characters justice! I'm not new to Fanfiction; I've been reading the site for years, including this archive and the The Song of the Lioness one. That being said, I am, however, a relatively new writer. Secondly, the Immortals series are easily four of my favorite books. I have been re-reading them since sixth grade. I just love Daine and Numair! Thirdly, this is just some scenes from Wild Magic from Numair's point of view. I expect to write three other stories, one for each book. I know this has been done before, but it's something I really wanted to write, and put my own creative spin on. Expect only a little dialogue, a lot of introspection, and some fluffiness. You are also probably wondering why I titled this story The Catalyst, and here's why. Wild Magic is where Numair and Daine first meet and establish their friendship, and from the beginning, Dain causes Numair's life to change drastically (whether he knows it or not!) and turns it upside down. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story, and I hope to write more for the fandom. Reviews are very much appreciated.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own The Immortals Series. All dialogue, places, and characters you see belong to the mighty Tamora Pierce.

The Catalyst

Chapter 1: Hawk

Numair was falling. Or was it flying? He tried to use his large black wings to stay aloft, a challenging prospect considering he couldn't tell the difference between up and down at the moment. Colors and sounds blended together, creating a blaring cacophony in his ears and blinding his eyes. His head was pounding and his stomach was nauseous, making him feel hollow. Pain, anger, and fear put his mind in a foggy haze. He couldn't think straight, and the world was spinning. Or was he the one spinning? From somewhere, Numair heard the cackling laughter of his assailants. Fear spiking through him again, he tried to fly faster, his injured wing burning. Suddenly, a clear and pealing whistle broke through the air, familiar. It was as if someone had poured cold water all over Numair, giving him a moment's clarity. Knowing that the stormwings tailing him were getting ever so closer, Numair took a chance and dove in the direction of the whistle.

He squawked in pain and surprise as he crashed through leaves and branches, breaking his already broken wing further. The ground growing ever nearer, Numair got himself together enough to avoid a crushing death and make an exhausted and clumsy landing. Swaying on his taloned feet for a moment, a hollow log caught Numair's eye. Hopping and waddling towards it, Numair did not take time to notice the squishy and foul smelling ground that he was walking on. Unbeknownst to him, he was in a marsh. However, shelter was the only thing on his mind. Once safely inside the log, Numair collapsed against its side, panting, shivering, and shaking. He thought that taking hawk shape would lessen the pain and the drugs, but the sensations only intensified. Unwillingly, he let the pain and chaos swamp him again, unable to hold it back. Voices, not his own, whispered nonsense in the back of his mind. Reds and blacks and greens swirled across his vision, obscuring it. His mind was covered in a heavy fog. Black shadows and figures, slightly resembling stormwings, hovered at the edges of his eyesight, mocking him. He thought he could hear their maniacal laughter in his sensitive ears. He cried out in agony, his squawk tearing at his throat. Mithros, Mynoss, and Shakith, let the Black god take me now! Anything would be better than this pained chaos!

As if the gods were answering his prayers, Numair heard something that cut through the chaos within him like a knife. It was a voice, an oh so heavenly and divine voice. It was clear and light and soothing. Using what strength he had left, Numair rose shakily to his scaled feet and hobbled to the log's opening. There, before him, stood a young, albeit gigantic, girl. She walked into the clearing, parting the fog in his mind. Her skin shone brighter than the sun, tendrils of bronze flame radiating out from her body. But the brightness did not seem to hurt Numair's eyes. On the contrary, her light caused all the impending chaos and shadows to leech away. The girl, bending down and reaching a large hand out to him, had all the beauty of a goddess or demigoddess.

Am I dead? Wondered Numair as he starred at the girl. No, I cannot be. I hurt too much to be in the Black god's realm. Shaking him from his muddled thoughts, the girl's honey-toned voice rang in his ears again, saying something. Ah, how he would do anything for that voice! If only for her to speak another word to him, he would jump off a cliff if she asked! Still staring at the girl, Numair felt the animal instinctiveness in him that was the hawk yearn to please the girl. For some reason, this side of him felt as if he already knew her, and she him. Connected. In his humanness, Numair felt something else too, something unidentifiable. Whatever it was, he knew that with this heavenly girl, his savior, he was safe. Speaking again and with a gesture of her hand, Numair hopped into her waiting grasp. Even though the shadows and madness still hovered at the back of his mind waiting to reclaim him, for the moment Numair felt whole, safe, and at home.

A/N: So what did you think? I'm going to go ahead and explain why I wrote the hawk scene like this. First, I don't think some people realize how profound that moment was, when Daine found Numair in hawk-shape. It's their first impressions of one another, even if they don't know it. Secondly, I know it may have been hard to follow, but I intended it to be that way. Numair is scared, in pain, drugged, and probably a just a little bit angry at Synthia (note my sarcasm). Everything he's experiencing now probably doesn't feel real, and he will most likely forget most of it later. That's why this scene is sort of over exaggerated and embellished. Lastly, I went ahead and made the assumption that when Numair shape changes, he has some hawk-like or animal instincts. That's why I made Daine so compelling to him. He was identifying with her as one of the People at some level. I'm not sure how often I'll update, but expect the next chapter to start off with Numair changing back into human. Anyway, thanks for reading, stay tuned, and review!