(Third night)
 M'yer walked her into the dining hall and sat her at a table.  There were
very few people here, and she could hear voices and laughter elsewhere in the
warren and supposed that there was a festival or party going on.  While M'yer
went and fixed her a plate of food, she was occupied in watching the rooms
other occupants.
 She had her head bowed slightly and was looking at them through the thin
fabric that was wrapped around her head.  No one could tell that she was
watching them, it would seem that she was merely praying.
 Who were these people who saved her and what plans did they have for her?
They had not made any overly aggressive moves so far.  Except for P'ker
throwing her over his shoulder to bring her here.  At the time she was very
ill, and she supposed it was for her own good.  They had healed her, and been
kind to her, and even said that she might be able to stay here.  This made her
suspicious.
 Why would they want her here?  What could her sword possibly offer the people
who made dragons bow down to them, and it seemed that the nomads did as well.
She had seen several nomads in the camp since she arrived, the tribe was one
that she was familiar with and she was sure that she could talk to them if she
had the opportunity.
 She was watching a couple cuddling in the corner when M'yer came back.  He
surprised her when he set the plate of food in front of her, and she jumped
having been caught off guard.  He smiled apologetically and they began to eat.
The food was only spiced with conversation, something that made her uneasy.
She was not used to idle chit chat, and she was used to a different style of
food altogether.  The dinner seemed bland next to the spicy nomad food she was
used to.  It had though a different and somewhat pleasing texture from food
cooked on a fire pit, the meat was tender and juicy.
 M'yer inquired about her people and home and she quickly changed the subject
asking him about what she would be expected to do for the warren in exchange
for her food and bed.  He smiled and said she would have to talk to the warren
lady about that one.  This surprised her greatly, these people were ruled by
women!
 Never before had she heard about independent women, much less ones who
commanded such a large group of people.  This was indeed a different world
from the one that she had been raised in.
 "When can I meet this Warren lady?" she asked.
   "Her name is Cynthia and I suppose the earliest you could talk to her would
be tomorrow morning since she is at the joining party tonight."
 She nodded and finished her meal quietly contemplating her situation. 
   "Well, I have to go now, would you like me to walk you back to the med
center?  I suppose you are staying there till morning when you can get a room
in the unjoined barracks or something.."  M'yer said.  She realized that he
was uncomfortable around her and was probably offering out a sense of duty or
obligation.
   She smiled and said "no that's OK I think I am going to go for a walk
before I go to bed, thank you."
 He nodded and left taking there food trays to the rack for her.  She sat
there for a few minutes more before she got up and walked outside into the
warm night air.  She walked around for a little bit and then found a rock to
sit on where she had a decent view of the warren.  She was thinking about what
skills she could offer these people for the short time she intended on staying
with them.  Perhaps she would go look for mushrooms and grasses tomorrow to
color some wool to weave.  That was one art she hadn't practiced in a long
time, but it was so ingrained into her child hood that it would never be
forgotten.
 She heard a soft rustling noise and looked around for its source, but the
walls of the warren made it hard to detect it, and the night was too black to
get a good view.
  "Who is there? " she asked in as steady a voice as she could manage, and she
was surprised when an amber eye opened near her.  It was an extremely large
eye, and she realized that it was a dragon, but oddly she wasn't really afraid
just surprised.
  <>  She heard distinctly in her mind, and she feinted.

 She woke up the next morning in the Med center with S'lomon standing over
her.
  "So get a bit of a surprise last night did you," he said with a grin, "lucky
Leis was their to call me If he hadn't been you might have woken up very
uncomfortably on that rock."
  She looked at him with astonishment her eyes focusing.  "That was real?  I
thought I had dreamed it.  Can they really talk to us?"
 He looked at her surprised "you heard him?  I thought he had just scared you
out of your wits."  He looked thoughtful for a moment.  "I think its about
time you have a talk with the warren lady."
 She nodded and sat up dressing quickly, she didn't want to keep the warren
lady waiting!