All this was my Norwall post and as it has something dealing with Lonnie and
Farr'in in it that will be part of my next few posts... I'm sending it to
the Cleft list as well.....

Barb..

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


"What's the matter?" Farr'in asked.

Heād seen the frown come over her face as instantly knew something was up.
Something she didnāt want to hear.

"They want me to bring Demee to the med center. And Lars and Alyne .." She
closed her eyes, "Gods, Farr'in .. how am I going to tell them .."

He wrapped his arms around her, "You'll find a way."

She accepted his comfort for as long as she could, then pushed back, "I
guess I'd better go."

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asked, but had planned on going
anyway. She didnāt need to face this on her own right now. He knew how it
felt and wanted to help her though it as much as he could.

She looked up at him, "You've done so much already .."

He smiled, "I wanted to."

She nodded, "I'd appreciate it .. as long as you don't have somewhere else
you'd rather be .."

He shook his head and followed her out to the dragon chamber where Demee
appeared to be having a telepathic heart to heart with the two dragons.

<<So what are you all talking about?>> Farrāin asked his brown.

<I like this little hatchling,> Tergath replied. <He wants us to move in
here and let me share the sands with Vonn. He likes you.>

<<Well I like Demee too but his mother and I are just friends.>>

<<Well thatās a start," the brown commented. <I wouldnāt mind sharing a
ledge with Vonn. Sheās a beautiful dragon you know.>

<<Iām sure she is.>

He heard Meena call out the boys name and then smiled as he heard the boy
answer her.

"I like Tergath, mama. Can I ride with him and Uncle Farr'in?"

Meena looked at Farr'in who grinned and nodded. She turned back to her son.

"All right, but you must be good and sit still."

"I will, mama."

Uncle Farrāin. 

Even the sound of the name brought back so many memories. 

**Can we have a rider on Tergath with you Uncle Farrāin," a young Myākel had
begged as he trudged his younger brother after him. "Mama said we could if
it was all right with you..."

"His name is Voger!!" and older Myākel has informed him. His face beaming as
he introduced his new hatchling to the man." ****

Uncle Farrāin... he kind of liked the sound of that.

Farrāin opened his arms when the little one came to him and careful mounted
Tergath, then made darn sure to wrap the protective riding straps around
both he and Demee. 
Then the brown followed after Vonn as she flew off towards the med center.

He was still carrying the boy as they entered the building. He just didnāt
want to let him go. It felt so right having the boy in his arms. Made him
feel like....

"Zera." The wingleader called to the healer, "You wanted to see me and my son."

The young woman turned and nodded solemnly, "And Greta's children too."

Meena nodded, "I.. I don't think they've been told yet."

"It's very important, Meena." Zera told her. She turned to a passing
staffer, "Could you take Demee back and get him ready for a check-up. The
young woman nodded and Zera turned to the small boy, "Lilendiss‘ is going to
take you back and get you ready while I talk to your mama."

Demee nodded, "Okay." He took the staffers hand and followed her to an
examination room.

Zera faced his mother. "Greta was poisoned."

Meena's eyes widened, "What?"

Farr'in put a steadying arm around her, "Are you sure?" he asked.

Zera nodded and began to explain about the slow working poison. When she
finished, Meena was white as a ghost. "Now you see why I need to check
Greta's kids."

"You think .. you think my father .."

What was this about her father... sheād barely mentioned him before, Farrāin
wondered.

Meena nodded, "I'll go get Lars and Alyne." She turned to Farr'in, "Stay
here with Demee?"

He nodded and watch her as she headed out of the med center. Something was
going on here that he didnāt know about.

Heād have to remember to ask her about it later and see if there was some
way in which he could be of some help. If someone was trying to bring harm
to the little one... and he suspected that could be the problem, then he
would do what he could to make sure that didnāt happen.

"Hey big guy," he set his face to look cheerful, so as not to frighten the
boy when he entered the room. Not that it took much to act that way around
the boy. Demee just had a way of bring it out of a person.

"I guess itās just you and me," he grinned at the woman leaving the room. "I
guess this is a little scary for you being in the med center."

"Maybe a little," Demee admitted slowly. "But Iām very brave."

"Oh I know you are," Farrāin agreed, his face taking on a slightly woebegone
look. "Why Iād be asking Tergath to come get me and fly me away from here if
I was in here. Healers scare me."

Demee giggled. Then a smile came across his young face and Farrāin wondered
what he was thinking.

<Heās talking to us dragonās again.> Tergath informed him. <I like talking
to him.> 

Zera walked into the children's examination room and managed a brilliant
smile for Demee.  She nodded to Farr'in, who sat in the chair beside the bed
and got to work.

"Good morning, Demee, how are you?"

"I'm fine!"

The rider felt a bit of pride as he watched the boy. None of his fears
showed. Maybe he didnāt feel any. He was very brave indeed. But then he
didnāt know what was going on. 

"Demee, I'm going to ask you a few questions and check you out, okay?"

"Why?"  Little-boy earnestness filled the word and she almost laughed,
smiling much more easily at the little boy.

"Because there's something going around and I want to be sure that you
don't get sick...  You're Mazel's favorite little boy, and she told me she
wanted to be sure you're okay."  Farr'in looked at her, but she kept
earnest eyes on the child, letting the fact that she cared about him show
in her eyes.

<< I did not! >>

< So lie about it. >

"Is it what made Greta sick?"

The boy looked sad and Zera nodded slowly, not wanting to lie to him about
that.  "Yes.  And we don't want you to get sick...  So how do you feel?"

Farrāin stood back out of the way while Zera led him through a series of
gentle questions and did what she could to make taking blood as painless as
possible.

"Ow!"  Demee stared at his finger and she smiled at him reassuringly.

"You're a very brave little boy, Demee.  You've done wonderfully well!" Zera
hugged the little boy and gave him the requisite sweet for being so patient
and so good.  She looked at Farr'in.  "We're done here, for the
moment.  It will take a while for the blood tests to come back."

He nodded and she smiled as he swung the boy up into his arms. "Okay champ..
what you say you and me go get something sweet and forbidden from the dining
hall."

"Will my momma meet us there?" Demee asked as the two left the room and
wondered out to where the brown was waiting. 

"Well Iām sure she will when she finished with what sheās doing right now,"
he told the boy as they mounted and he strapped him in. "But for now we
donāt want to worry her. So weāll do something together."

"Yea... she wonāt worry if she knows Iām with you. She likes you."

Farrāin chuckled at the boys obvious attempt to get the two adults together.
Maybe if he spent some time with him he wouldnāt feel the need so strongly
and just accept him as a good friend.

He knew heād enjoy it. He missed spending time with his nieces and nephews.
Maybe young Demee could fill the void he left behind in Cleft. That wouldnāt
be too hard as the boy had already slipped deep inside his heart. 

Meena was luckier than she knew to have a son like Demee. One so full of
love and life. Why just being around the kid seemed to make the day
brighter. He swore then to make sure nothing would ever happened to him. 

He didnāt fully understand what all had gone on back in the med center, the
talk about her father, but Meena had seemed upset about it and worried for
her sons safety. Heād be there to help out if sheād allow it and do his best
to keep her son safe.

Once inside the dining hall, he noticed a few smiles from several people
sitting there when they saw him walk in hand and hand with the boy.

He nodded, and kept walking until they came to the dessert table and then
let Demee pick out what he wanted, smiling when the boyās hand went from a
small plate of a gooey pie to a lager one when the rider didnāt say anything. 

In fact he too took a large plate of the same thing and then found them a
table to sit at so they could enjoy the sinful treat.

He prayed Meena wouldnāt be too upset with him for allowing Demee to have
the sweets this early.. but then he was sure she had other more important
things on her mind at the moment, and wondered how she was getting alone
with them.

Theyād been sitting there for sometime when he heard a voice he recognized
behind him.

"Boy if this is the kind of work they have you doing here in Norwall maybe I
should ask for a transfer."

Farrāin turned around slowly, a grin crept over his lips.

"Still the pesky little brother I left behind huh?" he asked. "Canāt I go
anywhere without you following me?"

"Well you know how it is Bro," Lonnie grinned and then winked at the little
boy sitting beside the big man. "We all looked up to you and wanted to be
just like you when we grew up."

"So when are you gonna grow up?" Farrāinās grin grew wider, and held his
hand out for his brother to take.

"So what brings you here to Norwall?" he asked when Lonnie had taken a seat
across from them. "Demee this is one of my brothers, Lonnie. He riders
Meritanth who should be outside catching up on all the gossip around here
from Tergath."

"He said I should call him Meri!" the boys face lit up. "Heās a nice dragon."

Lonnie looked confused. "He can hear Meri?"

"Well you heard what he just said. though why you should be confused with a
telepath is beyond me."

The younger brother chuckled. "Meri said to tell you that he thinks youāre
nice too... for a small human." He added, then looked down at what the two
were eating. "Any of that left over or did you two eat it all?"

"Oh I think there may be one more plate left. Think you could get it for
Lonnie Demee?"

the big man watched Demee as he got up and walked towards the dessert table,
then turned back to face his brother. 

"So what does bring you here? You havenāt been sent to check up on me have you?"

"Na... Mom figures youāre old enough by now to know your own mind. And
speaking of mom... you did remember their joining day is coming up in a few
days didnāt you?"

"Oh gees... I plain forgot... what with everything happening."

"Figured you would, so I though Iād come see your new home and remind you,"
Lonnie shrugged. "Gave me a chance to get away for a while. The sounds of
injured dragonās was starting to get on Meriās nerves."

"Injured dragons?"

"You hadnāt heard?" Lonnieās eyes opened wide when he saw his brother
shacking his head.

"We had our first battle with the wraiths in Cleft."

"The family?"

"All came back fine... Lennaās Blanchie flew this morning," he told him.

"Oh?" Farrāin grinned. "And who won?"

It had better of been that mate of hers, he thought, then pitied any other
rider whoās dragon might have won id Rook didnāt.

"I donāt know. Danāyar and I took Meritanth and Shinner away as soon as we
found out which of the females was rising."

"Smart of you." Farrāin replied as he watched Demee pick out a piece of the
gooey pie for Lonnie and then head back to their table.

"We thought so," the younger man agreed. "So do you think youāll be able to
take sometime off and come see the parents for their joining day?"

"Are you gonna move back to your old home Farrāin?" 

"Huh?"

"Well Meri told me thatās why they were here. To get you to come back and
see your old home." The boy seemed upset.

"No Demee," Farrāin reached down to pick him up and then set him down in his
lap. "Lonnie is here to remind me that our parents joining day is coming up
and just wanted to know if I was going to be able to visit them then. My
home is here now. So donāt fear I wonāt leave you."

Lonnie sat there wondering if his brother knew what his words sounded like.
*I wonāt leave you??* ... what was going on... had he already found someone.
Strange as that may have sounded, Lonnie thought it was just what his
brother needed.

"My momma would be sad if you did leave, and so would I."

"His momma?" Lonnie asked.

"Meena, Vonnās rider," Farrāin told him. "Weāve become...friends. Sheās also
the Alpha Wingleader here in Norwall."

"Bring her alone. Iām sure mother would be happy to meet her," a humorous
glint appeared in the younger mans eyes. "You know how she has always
worried about you."

"Weāre just good friends so donāt go telling mother any little white lies."

"Lyingās not good," Demee spoke up wanting to join in on the twos conversation. 

"Thatās right Demee," Farrāin shot a look across the table at his brother.
"Lying isnāt right. It can only get you into trouble."

"Well one can hope," Lonnie shrugged. "But why donāt you ask her anyway. She
might like to see what the Cleft looks like."

"Can we go Farrāin!?!" Demee looked up at him, his face showed his
excitement at the idea. "Iāll be good. I promise!!"

"Well I donāt know..." the idea sounded all right to him. Maybe just what
Meena needed to forget about things here for a short while. "But Iāll ask
your mom and see what sheās has to say. But I donāt want you to be
disappointed if she canāt go."

"All right!!"

"So where is his mother," Lonnie asked suddenly realizing she wasnāt here.
It was the look that Farrāin shot him, that clued him into the fact that
something was wrong.

"Hey Demee... I see Jeryn over by the door to the kitchen.. think you could
ask him for a glass of milk to go with your pie?"

The little boy was off out of his seat and making his way across the room
the minute the words were out of Farrāinās mouth. 

The rider not knowing how long his charge would be gone, quickly explained
to his brother what all had happened last night.

"Poisoned? And they think someone might be after that cute little boy too!!"

"No one has come out and said anything while Iāve been standing there," the
rider said. "Itās more of a feeling I get."

"So youāve appointed yourself to be their protector? Mother and son?"

"If I can, and she allows it."

"You do care about her?"

"Weāre friends. Thatās all."

"Okay, Okay!" His hands came up as if to ward off and blows his brother
might have been thing about throwing.
"So you gonna ask her to come to the Cleft with you?"

"I think I might do just that. Providing we can both get away. But with
everything happening here I wonāt make any promises."

"Good enough.. now... why donāt you and your young *friend* there show me
around this place."

"Just as soon as weāre finished with our pie and milk," Farrāin agreed just
as Demee came walking back up to them. His upper lips covered with a milk
mustache. "What do you say Demee. Want to help me show Lonnie around the
Warren while weāre waiting for your mom?"

*****Submitted by: *****

Barbara (a.k.a.

Farrāin & Tergath
Lonnie & Meritanth (on lone from Cleft Warren)
Norwall Warren