"Let's go home," she pressed her body closer to his.
She didn't fight it when he led her to Rook and mounted her before him on
the short flight up to their apartment. 

Once there, he picked her up, turned her around and stood her before him.
"All right, mind telling me why you all of a sudden decided to have a few
drinks?"

Lenna shook her head. "Not gonna tell," she said, knowing he'd only think it
funny anyway, and the last thing she needed was to hear him laughing when he
found out she was scared by a nightmare. 

"Sure you will," he continued as he grabbed her hands and held them behind
her. "I might just deny my body until you tell me."

Inches away from him, Lenna leaned forward and bit his nose.

"Ow! Dammit," he said as she skipped into the bedroom...

She didn't get far before she felt herself tackled from behind. Both ending
up in the middle of the bed. She fought against him knowing he'd punish her
for the bite. She'd done it as a diversion, hoping to make him forget his
question.

"Let me up!" she growled, knowing if she didn't move away from him now he'd
end up making her tell him what he wanted to know. 

"Uh huh," he grinned down at her slender body tapped beneath him. "Not until
you spill everything my drunken mate."

"I have nothing to tell you."

"Yea right," he grinned again, pressing her body deeper into the matrices
under her. "You just decided on a whim to go out and get drunk tonight for
no reason at all. Right?"

"Right," she agreed hoping he'd believe her but knowing he wouldn't. 

"Liar," he said and she saw his head lower and felt his lips, warm against
the side of her neck and couldn't stop the moan that came from her lips.  

"You gonna tell me?" he asked moving his lips from one side to the other.
Nipping her ear lobe with his teeth.

"No...And you can't make me," she boosted but her words didn't sound quite
so certain this time.

B`rand just laughed and set out to prove her wrong.

------------

"You're afraid because of a couple of nightmares!" he laughed as if he
couldn't believe it. "My *stronger than most men* Lenna is afraid of a
dream...?"

"Oh damn you it's not funny!!" she cried moving away from him on the bed. If
he was going to act like this, then she was going to spend the night with
her dragon. At lease from her dragon she'd get a little comfort.

"Hey get back here," he chuckled and drew her back down onto the bed next to
him.

"Let go of me," she pouted, but he refused to let her go.

"Now love... you know you don't want to go spend the night out on a cold
ledge with you dragon," he chuckled as he pulled her back into his arms.
"Just lay here go to sleep and I'll make sure the boogie man doesn't get you
tonight."

<Just relax and let him help you my rider.> Blanchie's thought entered her
mind. <We can all use a night of sleep tonight.>

Lenna won't admit it, even to her dragon, but she knew the lavender dragon
was right. She hadn't had any sleep in two nights and it was really starting
to get to  her.
If she didn't get sleep soon....

"Relax love. Go to sleep," her mates tone was softer now, less teasing, but
she could feel his chest rising and falling in laughter against her back.

Sleep did come to her that night. Only once did the dream come into her
mind, but the feel of B`rand's arm tightening around her and his whispered
words of comfort, sent her back into a deep dreamless sleep that lasted
until morning.

In the morning she awoke first and laid there in the circle of his arms
feeling more rested than she had in a long time.

Rested and a little frisky. After all he had been gone from her bed for a
few nights... Turning to face him in the wide bed she decided turn-a-bout
was fair play and began to move her fingers through the soft brown hairs on
his chest.

When she saw his eyes flicker open and met hers she smiled and saw his
emerald green eyes raise in question. Instead of answering him, she set out
using her hands and lips to bring him fully awake in a way they both would
enjoy.....

Later after showering together, B`rand asked her what her plans were for the
day.

"We're on the milk run again," she frowned as she reached for her shirt and
drew it over her head before tucking it into her leather riding pants.

"Milk run?" he asked confused.

"Yeah... Kat and I get to take that mapper out again to fly over the area's
he's suppose to make maps of," again she frown and wondered how the two of
them had been so lucky to have been chosen for this assignment.

"Oh gee a plum job," he grinned. "This must be some kind of pay back for
your little stunt in the dining hall the other night."

"My little stunt!!" she spun around to face him her blue eyes flashing with
renewed anger. "If the three of you hadn't of ganged up on me and cheated..."

B`rand moved quickly, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her to him
for a quick kiss. 

"Speaking of which," his eyes sparkled with merriment. "Thanks for reminding
me. You still owe me two days from our bet."

"How do you figure that?" she glared at him. "The bet was for a week and
that week ended two days ago."

"Ah... but the bet was for us to be together," he reminded her. "Being
spared because of Warren business doesn't count. So you owe me two more days."

She was about to protest, but thought better of it. He'd only win out in the
end. So she just turned to him and smiling her sweetest muttered. "Yes
dear." Then wished him a good day and turned to walk towards her dragon,
leaving her mate behind to wonder what she was up to.

-------------  

"So you hungry?" Katrina asked when the two of them met on the green outside
of the dining hall. It was becoming their custom to eat breakfast together
before leaving for their morning patrol.

"No B`rand and I were up early so I fixed us something at home," Lenna said.
"But I'll have a cup of coffee and keep you company while you eat. Then we
can go find the milk man."

"The * milk man *?" Kat asked, a grin covering her lips.

"Yea," Lenna sent a half grin back her way. "I figured if we're going to be
stuck on the milk run. Then Trevor should be called the milk man."

That sent Katrina into a fit of giggles. Lenna couldn't help herself and
joined in.

"Just please!!" the other girl begged. "Don't ever let him hear you calling
him that."

Katrina filled herself a plate and then rejoined Lenna at a table where
they'd have no problem seeing the map maker when he came in. When he finally
made an appearance Lenna waved him over, but e made a motion towards the
breakfast food bar and then back to their table.

"Who you looking for?" the partner asked Lenna when she noticed the blond
still looking around for someone.

"Ani...that nomad healer girl who Dani has taken under his wing," Lenna
replied, her face curved up into a smile when she didn't find the girl
anywhere in the room.

"Oh she went off somewhere with the Warrenlady this morning. I saw them
leaving when Azure and I arrived."

"Shoot!" the blond swore.

"Why?"

"I was hoping we could get her to go back with us to that tribe of Nomads we
found yesterday," Lenna told her. "I figure if we had someone to translate
for us we might be able to make our case and they'd let the girl and her
daughter come back for the hatching."

"Well we can always check back here sometime later on and see if she's
available," Kat commented and Lenna agreed that it was probably a good idea.
"Though what about the other one? That Nomad who joined with a dragon from
Keldarra?"

"Qedhar?"

"Is that his name?"

"Yea, but I don't think that would be a good idea," Lenna told her. "Not
that I don't thin the man could do the job. In fact he'd likely be a better
choice than Ani, since he's a man of honor among his people. Or was to those
in his own tribe... but B`rand was saying something this morning about him
already being involved in something here dealing with the tribe we got
outside the Warren gates."

"Well are you two already for another day?" Trevor's voice sounded from
behind them. "It's turning out to look like a nice one."

Lenna looked at her partner and seeing the look Katrina threw back at her,
it was all Lenna could do not to start giggling again.

----------   

Lenna was more than ready for a break when Blanchie told her Azure wanted
them to land. When she saw the reason for the mapper's request it was all
she could do not to get back up on her dragon and tell the lavender beast to
take them away from here.

Caves!!! Why did it have to be caves? Rogue Dragon's she could have
handled... but not caves.

"You two go on and look around inside as much as you want," she told them
both when Trevor started inside and noticed she wasn't following. "I'll just
stay right out here and keep an eye on things."

"But it'll go quicker with all three of us looking around," the man said
frowning, and would have said more but Katrina cut him off.

"No Lenna's right," the girl said when she noticed how white her partners
face had grown. "We really should leave someone out here to keep watch while
we're inside."

<<Blanchie love tell Azure to thank her rider for me, but there's no way I'm
going to go inside those caves.>>

<Her rider understands and wants to know if you've told Rook's rider yet?>

Lenna looked over and met the questioning eyes of her friend, while
remembering the girl had made her promise to tell B`rand.

<<Tell her yes... and he thought it was funny that I was afraid of a dream.
Fat lot of help he was!>>

<Now...now my Lenna...> Blanchie scolded her gently. <Was your mate not
there last night when you needed him?>

The beast was right but Lenna was in no mood to agree.
She just waited for the others to look around inside and paced back and
forth cursing herself for her own lack of wills...

------------------   

By the time Katrina and Trevor made there way out of the cave system, the
nooning sun was far up in the skies above them. Lenna suggested that it
might be a good time to check in at the Warren and see if the girl Ani was
free yet. Katrina agreed, but they both noticed Trevor looking a little put out.

"Look Trev, I know your a bit disappointed to have your mapping cut short,"
Lenna said with a little more kindness then usual. "But you have to know we
wouldn't even think about it if this wasn't important. We have to have
candidate's for the eggs what'll be hatching soon. You were raised in a
Warren you know how it is?"

He gave in good naturally, especially after Katrina promised him the two
dragonriders would give him half of their next rest day to make up for it,
then he went off to work on the stuff he'd collected this morning. They
planned to meet again in the morning.

"Why'd you have to go and say that for," Lenna asked when 
Trevor was out of sight.

"Cause the milk man looked about to sour," Kat's eyes sparkled at her own joke.

"Oh gees...!"

-------------   

Ani was more than happy, if a little shy about listening to their request.
She made them go over everything that had happened yesterday when they had
returned the girl to her mother and what they had done and said while they
were there.

"This time when we go back we will land outside the village and wait for an
invitation to enter," she told them and then went on to explain to the
riders why this was so important. "Went we enter their village... if we are
asked... then it is important you make show of laying down sword and any
knife you have. This they will see as act of good faith."

"You want us to go in there unarmed?" Katrina questioned the girl to see if
she had heard right, then turned to look at Lenna and knew she was wondering
the same thing.

"You go in with sword they see you as enemy maybe and act the same way," Ani
tried to explain. "Open hands is sign of truce and will be received as such."

"All right," Lenna said after a few minutes of thinking it over. "We'll try
it her way since these are her people."

"Not my people," Ani corrected her. "I have no people left."

Lenna could hear the hurt in the girls voice that she tried hard to hide and
felt for her. Leaning close she placed her hand on the girls arm until Ani
raised her eyes up to meet hers.

"You have people," the blond told her. "Here in the Warren you have people
who care about you. My brother and the rest of our family. We count you as
one of us. We are your people now and nothing will ever change that so you
are not alone."

"Now!" Lenna said as she leaned back and took in both women seated around
the table with her. "How do we get them to let us ask the girl if she would
like to come back to the Warren and join with the eggs when they hatch?
Cause I'm as sure as anything that girl has what it takes to become a
dragonrider... and I'd stake my reputation as a searcher on it."

"Have you ever been wrong Lenna?" Kat asked grinning.

"Only once....but I don't remember who he was."

"I thought not."

-------------------   

Nrpg: Kris or Holly; which ever one of you gets around to it first can post
them going to the nomad village....We just need to make sure it's done
right.....;).... no blundering into the village without an invite this
time.... we wouldn't want them to think we were without honor!!! Now would we ;)
Barbara (a.k.a.

Warrenlady Jayleigh & Her Queen, Viktroy (Daere)
Tera & Sundellath  (Telnor)      Lakoda & Ribbon     (Marrid)
Dan'yar & Shinner  (Cleft)       Shaeleasta & Kaaren (Keldarra)
Shawnee & Doshayne (Whiteriver)  Ghost & Kikeane     (Geode)
Farr'in & Tergath  (Norwall)

Daere Warren Home Page: 
<http://www.BCSInetwork.com/carolyn/>
Daere Warren Piccy Page 
<http://www.BCSInetwork.com/carolyn/piccy.html>
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