Chapter 3

Natalie lay in Rav's arms gasping, she smiled to herself pleased that he was having just as much trouble getting his breath back, she could feel his heart thudding in his chest in unison with hers. Kissing him she purred "mmmmm that was a wonderful homecoming." Rav kissed Natalie again grinning "can we leave and come back again, I think we need lots of homecomings." Watching her stretch her body arching her back and look at him from violet eye's light with sensual laughter he felt himself getting hard all over again, with a laughing leer he pounced on her "many, many, homecomings" he whispered against her breasts.

A long time later, Rav and Natalie walked through the house hand in hand, Rav was amazed as he looked around, she had turned an empty husk of a house into a home, in the library he looked up at the tapestry, hugging her tight he kissed her again, whispering thank you against her lips. Natalie felt her heart aching with the love she felt, whispering back she told him of her love and longing for him. With a slight worried frown Natalie looked at Rav, she had to say it but didn't want to break the fragile beginning. Rav saw the frown and looked at her "what is it?" Holding his hand tightly she told him "all this time I've watched the house, when I realized it was time to come home to you I fixed the house each touch with love for you. I could never look in your lair always afraid of what I would see of past memories, I need to go back there Rav and put those ghosts to rest but I can't do it alone." With a deep sadness in his eyes Rav nodded "I've never gone back since that night, I had father remove everything, can we go back together and help each other put those ghosts away once and for all?"

His arm over her shoulder holding her tightly the two entered the lair, it felt cold, empty, as alone as the two of them had once been. Going into the chamber that had been the bedroom they both remembered the last time they had been in that room, Natalie felt a tear slip down her cheek, seeing it Rav pulled her into his arms "I'm so sorry Natalie" Licking the tears off her cheek. Natalie looked up at the dragon she loved so dearly, stroking his cheek "make love to me here Rav, now in this room, then let's turn this lair into the home it was meant to be, our love can keep the ghosts away forever and our children's laughter will make it final." Rav swept her into his arms with a deep rumbling purr his wings flaring and fanning the air.

Hank his stomach grumbling finally got his breakfast and sat down to eat, glancing around he spotted the girl with the kind smile and dark brown eyes, he watched her seem to dance from place to place with a group of women, he could hear her laughing and thought, a kind smile, brown eyes and a soft laugh. Trink noticed the direction Hank was looking in and winked "now me boyo which one of those pretties be yea interested in?" Hank chuckled "you're the pretties man, not me Trink, I was just noticing the young girl in the blue dress, her father gave me a balm for a few aching muscles last night that's all." Trink hopped up and waved his hand in front of Hank's eyes making him blink in surprise "yea going blind boyo? that ain't no young girlie that's a petite lil woman, true she ain't old I figure bout in her late teens or early twenties, not exactly top heavy in the chest area but them's be a woman's boobies under that dress, trust ol Trink to know these things."

Hank was thankful that he had a deep tan as he felt his cheeks get hot, concentrating on his food he didn't look in her direction again as Trink chortled. Trink and Hank spent the rest of the day visiting old friends and making new ones, no one associated the grown man with the young boy of three year's ago dragging a sword behind him. Off and On during the day he noticed the girl woman in the blue dress.

Hank sat on a rock staring pensively into the fire, Trink had gone off with one of his pretties, Falk was off with the other gryphon's, he figured Natalie and Rav were still off together since he had not seen them since last night. He wanted to go find Virlane, Kat, Brand and Bitsy, he had not seen them since he had taken Natalie home. He could have gone back anytime he had known that, it wasn't that he felt divided loyalties, at the time he had been in many ways just as hurt as Natalie, not physically but emotionally. Hank saw Rav and his family as his champion's, they had become his family when Rav married Nat, they had helped him in so many ways to learn that he could be himself without fear or derision, he had not expected them to have human failings too, they had seemed so perfect to him that when he did see those failings it had hurt even more to the confused emotions of a 10 year old. So he had gone adventuring, out into the universe to new lands, new worlds, sometimes Trink went with him, many times he went alone. He had never gone searching for the unicorns and the magical unicorn circle but they were still deep in his heart, perhaps once he knew that Nat was finally where she belonged and everything was going to work out, he might give it some thought.

The first time he had used the sword to go off on his own when he had been the boy Hank, who's heart was filled with disappointment and anger at Rav, he had not known how to control the time he was gone. To Hank and the sword he had been gone fourteen long years until he had heard Natalie searching for him and calling him, drawing him back to the Keep. To the people of the Keep and SheringCross he had only been gone over a week. Hank had left a boy and returned a man something that was hard for Natalie to accept at times when she was acting as all big bossy sisters do, he had learned to just grin at her and do as she asked.