--Early afternoon of Callana's arrival--

Callana tossed her braid back over her shoulder, tucked an errant strand
of pale blond hair away in place again, and cooly lowered her sword.

"A draw," Farr'in agreed.  "Of course, we'll have to finish it some
time."

"Of course," Callana agreed, sounding wholly professional.  "I certainly
could use the practice."  Was that a hint of a smile Farr'in noticed?

<This human, this Farr'in, he seems nice,> Slaire sent.

<I hadn't noticed,> Callana returned drily.

<Ah,> was Slaire's only comment.  <His dragon has two tails.>

<Mm-hmm...>

She sheathed her sword in one fluid motion.  "I believe I still have
time to go shopping.  If you would join me?" she mentioned casually.  "I
have little idea where the shops are."

"O-of-" Farr'in reached for words.  "Of course.  I'd be glad to."  He
replaced his own sword.  "Did you bring any thing with you?"

"Very little," Callana answered shortly.  "No furniture.  Just some
riding leathers, a few old treasures..."  She stopped abruptly.  "Where
to?" she asked.

"This way," Farr'in said, gesturing for her to follow him.  She kept his
pace, walking beside him, as he led her through Cleft towards the few
but growing number of shops the warren boasted.

"We'll find you a vacant apartment, first," he went on.  "That way
you'll know what to provide for."

Callana nodded.  "What is needed around here?  That I could use to
barter in return for what I need to furnish my apartment?"

"Well," Farr'in considered.  "What can you do?  Turner does plumbing,
D'ren finishes the stonework.  Things like that.  I'm something of a
metalsmith."

"Well," Callana paused in thought for a moment.  "I did have some time
on my hands at Marrid."  She unslung her pack and opened it.  She rooted
about in its contents for a minute or two, and finally withdrew a
leather-bound package and several smaller cloth-bound items.  They were
wrapped in multi-colored silks.  She selected one, which was a pale, icy
blue in color, put the rest away, and opened it.

Nestled in the silk was a carving of a dragon.  From snout to tail, it
was only four inches long, but perfectly proportionate, and incredibly
acurate.  It was made of some precious mineral of a mottled blue color
nearly the same shade as Slaire.  Bits of mother of pearl reflected the
mineral, mimicing Slaire's pearly, opalescent eyes.

"Beautiful," Farr'in breathed.

"It's something I picked up a while back," Callana shrugged.

"You made this?" he asked wonderingly.

Callana nodded.  She opened the leather-bound package to reveal a set of
very fine, custom-made jewlery tools.

"Where do you get the raw materials?" he asked.  "Especially the mother
of pearl?"

"I have a small quantity in my pack.  That's mostly what I've got,
actually.  I had a standing agreement with a merchant in a small
landbound town.  My finished product was more valuable than the raw
stuff, so he'd give me enough for two or three carvings asides from the
one I'd make for him.  Slaire's kind enough to play mail coach for us
when I'm out of supplies and he needs another piece."

Farr'in nodded.  "I think that'll cover whatever you need..."

"Oh, this is the only dragon I have at the moment, and it's not for sale
or trade."  Callana put the Slaire-carving away and withdrew another
piece of white silk.  She opened it and revealed a small carving of a
fish made out of a very bright, lead-like mineral.  "I have enough
material to make quite a few items."

"I'm sure quite a few people would be willing to trade to have a carving
like that," Farr'in breathed.

"Oh, but it's not  very practical," Callana sighed.  "Just a trinket. 
Nothing really useful."  She put the fish and her tools away, and
returned her pack to its place on her back.

Farr'in was skeptical.  "It's a wonderful thing, but if you're so bent
on being useful around here, is there anything else you can do?"

Callana considered for a moment.  *It's been so long since I've needed
to put my hands to skill...*  "Very little," she admitted.  "Not much,
except- oh.."  She fell silent, quite suddenly.

Farr'in eyed her curiously.  "What?" he asked, hoping he didn't sound
like he was prying.

Callana was silent before continuing on in a subdued, emotionless tone.
"I learned to fight with a sword on dragon back.  I could teach that,"
she replied flatly.  Farr'in was instantly curious.  Callana only sighed
when she saw his curiousity, reflected so openly in his face.  *Slaire
and 'Koda were always telling me to open up a bit...*

"When I was in the wastes," she continued, stopped, and corrected
herself.  "When I was alone in the wastes, it was so very easy to run
out of arrows.  I had to learn to fight with my sword.  Rogue dragon
attacks were rare, but they were enough to make me learn."

There.  It was out.  Let him deal with that.

"That's.. that's.." Farr'in fumbled for the words.  "That's incredible! 
That's very useful, too," he added.  Then, suddenly, "You were alone in
the wastes?"

"Yes."  Her short, cold reply silenced his curiosity.  For now, at
least.

"Ah, here we are," Farr'in announced after a few minutes of silence. 
The newly-smoothed stone walls were broken by irregularly spaced doors
that led to rider apartments.  It was easy to tell which ones were
occupied and which ones weren't.

Callana didn't have much of an idea of what she was looking for, but
Slaire had a firm impression of what she wanted.

<I like this one,> Slaire announced, alighting on a ledge outside one
vacant apartment.

"Tergath says it's vacant," Farr'in said, opening one door.  It felt
like the area Callana had felt Slaire's sending from.  "In here."  He
motioned her through.

The walls were mostly unfinished, though one medium-sized room had been
finished slightly better.  Callana guessed it was an intended bedroom. 
It was large enough, she noted, to hold a desk and a couple of book
shelves.  Not that she had many books; not that she'd mind collecting
again.  

There was another room that she figured would eventually become a bath
and washroom when it was finally finished.  The rest of the space had a
good, high ceiling.  The area for a dragon was of a fair size, and there
was some comfortable space Callana could easily see becoming a living
room.

"Your dragon has good taste," Farr'in noted.

"My dragon has a very large comfort zone," Callana returned drily.

<Hunh, you think?> Slaire retorted.  <We could spend another nine months
sleeping in dank caves and windy ledges, if you'd like.>

"No, this'll do nicely," Callana said aloud.  "What's a rider without
her dragon, anyway?  Slaire's happy here."

"And you?  You like it?"  Farr'in's innocently dropped question struck a
peculiar nerve.

"I'm fine," Callana returned shortly.  She turned and left the apartment
abruptly, leaving Farr'in to wonder what he had said wrong.  He followed
her outside.

Slaire and Tergath winged off somewhere; Tergath was probably giving
Slaire an aerial tour.

"The shops are this way."  Farr'in sounded hesitant, and Callana
instantly regretted her tone.

"I apologize for my tone back there," Callana said, trying hard to
soften her voice.  "Honestly, I sounded awful, and you didn't deserve
it.  You were only trying to help."

"It's all right," Farr'in amended, feeling more confused than ever. 
What a strange girl!  Her apology was sincere, and he realised that
whatever he had said did affect her.  He grinned.  "I know how you can
make it up to me, though."

"Oh?  How?"

"Free lesson.  I'd like to learn," he smiled.

To his shock and delight, Callana smiled.  It was genuine- her mouth
stretched in a crooked, charming smile, showing a flash of white teeth.
Her eyes glinted, still holding their own secrets, and for a moment,
some of the haunted look left her.

"Deal," she nodded.  The smile never quite faded for the rest of the
afternoon.

They had reached the shops in the mean time, and Callana spent a great
deal of time browsing.  She chose every thing she bought carefully,
especially the furniture.  She bartered her carvings, wondering if she
should mention that she did personalized dragons.  She decided that if a
body asked for it, she'd agree, and left it at that.  Where she could,
she traded for weapon lessons.

At last, after spending what seemed like a horrendous amount of time
chosing her furniture, clothing, miscallaneous rugs and wall hangings,
Farr'in showed her his parents' leather shop.

Callana inhaled the rich aroma of fine leather, felt herself relax. 
Farr'in even introduced his parents, Yarik and Danki.

"Oh, you must be new," Danki smiled warmly.  "I'm sure you'll fit in
well here, dear.  Has Farr'in been taking good care of you?"

"Yes," Callana said, calling up a smile of her own.  It was terribly
hard to resist this woman!  "Yes, he has.  Found me an apartment, showed
me around, and even tried to help me pick out my furniture."

"Not that it did any good," Farr'in muttered.  Yarik laughed and
extended his hand to shake Callana's.

"Well, Callana," Yarik said, "You'll have to join us for dinner."

"So Lenna expressed," Callana replied.  Danki laughed.

"Well now, if Lenna invited you, you'd better accept," Yarik said, a
smile creasing his face.  "She doesn't accept refusal too well."

"No," Danki seconded, "she doesn't.  It's settled, then.  Come on, I'll
show you around the place, and then leave you to get settled in your new
apartment.  Someone'll come around to collect you for dinner."

Callana allowed herself to be herded around the shop, truly and
pleasantly surprised to see the fine work put into the dragonsaddles,
the riding leathers.  Callana's gaze lingered on an especially nice set
of riding gear for a dragon, and was acutely aware of the state of her
own riding leathers.  She had already ordered some civilian clothing
from someone Farr'in had introduced as his sister, the Master Weaver
Thina, and had at the same time bought some clothing that would do in
the time until her own clothing was made.

"I know I'll need a new combat saddle," she mused.  "Mine is no good any
more.  The one I've got was pulled out of mothballs, and Slaire's been
complaining that it chafes."

It was an easy remedy.  Once again, Callana withdrew her small carvings,
taking out the one of Slaire, the fish, a few pieces of other marine
life, and some abstract pieces like an apple carved in jade.

"Fine work, fine work," Yarik mused, eyeing the pieces with an expert
eye.  It wasn't leather, but a quality craftsman knew good work when he
saw it.  

"If there's something particular you want, let me know, and I can see
what I can make for you," Callana offered.

"Truly?" Danki exclaimed, picking up the small apple and holding it up
to the light.  The jade was nearly translucent, and glowed with a soft
light as the afternoon sun caught it.  

Callana rummaged through her pack some more, bringing out more
leather-wrapped items.  Out of them, she unwrapped pieces of raw
material- multi-hued peacock ore, pyrite, diamond, ruby, emerald, smoky
quartz and amethyst and other precious and semi-precious bits of stone,
some fine, soft gold, silver, bronze, lead.  She had jade, tiger-eye,
lapis lazuli, even obsidian, although how she carved that was a mystery.

"You decide what you would like in exchange for a new combat saddle and
a new riding saddle, and some leathers for me," Callana said.  "If
there's something you'd like that I haven't got made, don't hesitate to
ask."

She then turned to Farr'in.  "I want to thank you for your help today. 
I'll also need to cover the metal fittings on the saddle.  Is there
something I make for you?  One of Tergath?"

Farr'in did not hesitate to accept.

"Well," Callana smiled again, standing up.  "I should be going.  I have
some quarters to set up, things to unpack.  Slaire is-" she paused for a
moment, searching for her dragon's thoughts burried in the back of her
conciousness "-eating.  And I do accept your invitation to dine," she
finished.

"Oh, we're done here.  Farr'in will take you along to dinner now, and
you'll have plenty of time to move your stuff around later," Danki
smiled, blithely ignoring Callana's sublte request to leave.  "Won't
you, Farr'in?" she went on, smoothly catching her son.

"Of course," Farr'in agreed.  "What else am I here for?" he laughed,
thinking of the tied-up day so far.  *One day.  That's it!  She's barely
been here for a day!*

Callana nodded, feeling slightly bowled over by Danki's easy insistence.
"Sure," she smiled.  "We can settle what I owe you for the goods over
dinner, then."

----------
NRPG:  Barb, if you want to write something for dinner, go for it!  I
have no idea how your family's going to behave, so I'll leave it in your
capable hands.  (Tag, I guess!)
----------

Callana awoke earlier than she usually did, and that was early, indeed.
She did not enjoy sleep.  It was a neccessity.  She was still full from
last night, her eyes misty, her long form tangled in the hastily-made
bed.

<Slaire?> she sent.

<Mmmph..>  It was more of a feeling than a response.  <Furl's still
asleep.. go back to sleep, Blade.. it's too early..>

*Furl?* Callana thought, confused.  She lay back down, feeling the
warmth of the quilt surround her.  <T'keth..> she sent lazily,
comfortably enveloped in the warmth of love and the never-quite-aware
fog of just awaking.  She dozed off.

Slaire felt guilty.  She had been fully awake, enjoying a night flight,
when she had received Callana's sending.  *Gods.. if she wakes up and
remembers that .. that .. she'll be ... gods, no, the healers said she
wasn't.. wouldn't.. she won't remember.  Oh gods, she won't remember..*

Callana woke up about an hour before the dawn, dressed, and found her
way to the washroom.  She wet her hair, braided it, washed her face and
hands and promised herself a shower later, when she found out where the
shower was...

She wandered back to her apartment, still slightly bleary-eyed, wrapped
in an old, comfortable robe.  Slaire was sleeping so soundly, Callana
figured she'd sleep through an earthquake.  There were the remains of a
midnight snack laying nearby Slaire's slumbering form; Callana figured
her dragon would clear that away later.

It was mid-morning when Callana received the summons from Syren through
Slaire, relaying Cynthia's request to see her in the Warrenlady's
office.  Callana was moving her furniture around when it came.

She found her way back to Cynthia's office fairly easily, and was met
outside the door by Farr'in, his sister Lenna, and a new transfer she
remembered Lenna mentioning she had to see to, Katrina.  She said her
greetings, naturally cool, and entered with the group.

"You called for us?" Callana asked, expressionless.  She noticed Cynthia
watching her for a moment before answering.

"Yes, I need to assign patrol partners to the four of you."

Callana hid her mild surprise.  So soon?

<Yes!> Slaire practically shouted.  <Some air time!  Finally!>

"And?" Callana prompted, sounding impatient, but covering an eagerness
that matched her dragon's.  She shifted her bearing, standing a little
straighter, a little taller, feeling ready.  *A patrol... I'm not just
here for more ground time.. a real patrol..*  She was anxious to get on
with it.

"Callana, you are Farr'in's patrol partner.  And Katrina, you and Lenna
pair up."

Once again, Callana covered her surprise, though this time it was a
pleasant one.  She wouldn't mind flying patrol with Farr'in.  She was
actually rather relieved, since he was the only one she knew anything of
so far.

"Farr'in, Callana, and Lenna, you are excused.  Katrina, if you would
stay a few minutes, I would like to talk with you about something,"
Cynthia said smiling.

Callana did not envy the girl's staying behind.  She was the first out
of the office.

"Well partner you ready to go," Farr'in turned to face Callana when the
three walked outside.  "No time to begin learning the lay of the land
like the present."

"I'm ready if you are," she threw back his challenge and nearly smiled
when he saluted her.

"Have fun you two," Lenna called after them as she moved to stand by
Blachie.  Callana wondered what the Warrenlady wanted with Katrina, and
didn't envy Lenna's wait.

Callana mounted Slaire, with Farr'in close behind.

"Lead on with the tour, O great guide," Callana said, her voice tinged
with faintly mocking, sarcasm-laiden humor.  Farr'in smirked and Tergath
took off.

NRPG:
-------
Once again, tag, Barb!
-------
All caught up.. finally!

Submitted by,
Keri Rodgers
Callana Blade & Slaire