Disclaimer: I only own Jael. And this fic. Draco's not mine, though I wish he were.

Heaven-Sent

He had spent centuries being weightless, drifting and watching as man evolved into a deceitful, selfish breed. Humans no longer believed in the magic that birthed the creatures that ran rampant in their fairytales and in their wildest dreams. Where they were once called God, dragons were now fabled monsters in modern lore.

And now the weight of the world was upon him, pulling at him until he was in free-fall. He found himself praying for wings as he plummeted, wishing to catch the wind that rushed passed him and fly back to the safety and comfort of the Heavens. But his prayers weren't answered. Heaven couldn't hear him – because Heaven didn't exist anymore.

---

For the first time in her life, Jael couldn't count the stars in the sky. There had to be hundreds of them, sparkling and dazzling. She wondered idly, tucking a lock of her shoulder-length hair behind an ear, if anyone else was mad enough to bare witness to the stars at such an ungodly hour of the night. Probably not, she decided with a sigh and gripped the rusted iron railing in both hands.

A flicker in the distance caught her eye. She squinted but was unable to find the source of the strange glitter. Another flicker, and this time she saw it. Though she found it hard to believe – and she hoped it was her mind playing tricks on her. There was no way she had just witnessed a star going out. But, then, why did the sky suddenly seem so dark? So empty?

Her grip on the railing tightened, turning her knuckles white. She stared hard at the last star, half of her daring it to go out, the other half hoping against hope that it would just shine brighter to make up for all the others that had gone out. And it didn't go out. The fading star started to fall. Slowly at first, then faster. Faster, until she could see the glimmering tail of starlight behind the heavenly body as it fell. Then she saw nothing, nothing but whiteness all around her.

---

He groaned as he opened his eyes slowly to a blurred, unfamiliar world. Perhaps it was the fall, or maybe the landing, but it took long minutes before he came to his senses. Before he became aware of things he had been lacking for centuries. Things like a body, and breath, and a heartbeat. It took even longer before he could find the will to move an arm, raise a hand to his chest and feel just how alive he was.

And longer still before he realized his body was all wrong.

---

Jael woke with her heart pounding and her body quivering. She hoisted herself out of bed, not bothering to look at the time. It was impulse driving her to the balcony, causing her to seek any truth that may have been waiting out there in the midnight.

Outside, she walked cautiously to the place she stood in her dream and watched the sky. There were no stars. Not even the moon dared to show Her face tonight. She sighed, ready to put her dream behind her and head back to bed. But a downward glance changed her plans and made her blood run cold and her heart pound harder than ever.

"What in the name of hell..." she whispered to herself and leaned over the rail, squinting through the darkness to see the creature in her backyard better. At first glance, it – he – seemed human. But a second glance wiped her mental slate clean. First and foremost, she realized he had wings. Then she noticed the tail, and the horns and the scales

Dragon was the first word that came to mind, and no matter how she tried to shake it, the notion wouldn't budge. She played her palms against the rusted railing and bit her bottom lip. Maybe this was just another dream and maybe she would wake up at any second and –

She met his eyes and knew then that it was all real. Whimpering inwardly, she spun on her heel and rushed inside, but didn't head to the safety of her bed. She went to the back door and down the spiral staircase. Before she could give her actions a second thought, she pushed the old metal door open and stepped into the yard.

Jael played was wringing her hands together nervously by the time she closed the distance between herself and the strange male now sitting in the middle of her backyard. He rose an eyebrow, then canted his head to the side and she wondered what he was thinking.

"Uhm," she mumbled, not quite sure how to approach him.

"Hello," he spoke up, voice quiet and cracking as though it hadn't been used in a very, very long time.

Hearing him speak was a small relief. And she let out the sigh to show it before asking in a stammer, "what...? Where...?"

A rumble rose from the back of his throat as he slowly hefted himself to his feet. He towered over her by quite a few inches once he was upright. "A dragon," he stated in a haughty tone, like it should have been obvious to her. Then he pointed skyward. "Up there," he said in response to her second question.

She stared at him. "Waitasec. You're... a dragon?" she asked and he nodded. She wrinkled her nose. "You don't... look like a dragon to me."

He chuckled and looked at his hands, flexing his fingers until the tips of his talons were digging into his palms. "I don't look much like a dragon to me, either, little one." He caught the what-are-you-on-about look she gave him and cleared his throat. "I myself am not quite sure. Like you, I've only just discovered myself like this."

She furrowed her brow and shifted uneasily on her feet. "Well, then... What did you mean by...?" She pointed up the way he had moments before. "Did you fall outta the sky or something?"

He looked to the ground, flexing his toes against the dirt and grass. "I suppose you could say that."

She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but chose not to. Instead, she cocked her head to the side. "My name's Jael. What's yours?"

"My name? Oh, it's," and the sound that escaped his mouth, that strange mixture of growls and grunts, made her take a step back.

"What?"

He opened his mouth and then shook his head, whispering a quiet "no."

"No, what?"

"Jael," he said, "my name is..."

"Is...?"

He looked to the sky slowly. "Draco," he whispered, and something in the way he said his name made her heart ache. It sounded far too much like the vain and hopeless prayer of a sinner.