{SNIP}

Sensing her concern, Kellie walked over, "He'll be fine," she said
confidently.

But Turner saw through to her heart. He knew she was every bit as
worried as Cynthia was. Trevor was her son after all was said and done.

"I certainly hope so." Cynthia walked out to the green and looked up
into the sky. She could see the sunlight glinting off Trissana's pearly
white scales as she flew higher and higher.

"Cynthia come back with us," Turner had followed her out when she had
walked away. "There's nothing you can do for him right now my friend
except keep yourself together and be there for him when he comes back
needing your support."

"but I'm afraid he won't come back," she said softly and didn't fight it
when he pulled her into his arms for a hug of comfort.

"How could he not come back to you silly," he chided her kindly as he
led her back over to where Kellie was waiting. "He loves you and that
will never change. Now let's go inside and you can cry all you want to
where no one will see you. Then you'll have to pull yourself together
and be the strong one when he returns needing the comfort he will need."

Kellie was waiting there for them. She opened her arms to the other
woman and Turner released her so they could comfort eachother.

He wondered if Trevor knew just how lucky he was to have two such
wonderful caring women in his life who loved him.

{END SNIP}

Cynthia sniffled, and pulled away from Kellie slightly, "I have to
stay.  What kind of mate would I be if I didn't?"

Kellie nodded and released the younger woman, "I'll be right here."

"I know," Cynthia said turning and walking outside.

Cynthia watched the dragons wheel across the sky.  Thus far Trissana had
managed to aviod them all and she hadn't caused the males any serious
injury.  She wanted to run to Trevor, to help him through this, but she
didn't.  She couldn't even bring herself to look in the direction she
knew him to be in.  For some reason it was easier to watch Triss.

What kind of mate was she?  What kind of person was she? she chided
herself.  Trevor needed her, needed her support, and she couldn't even
bear to watch.  No, she rationalized, there was nothing she could do for
him now.  But after this was over they would talk.  When she could be
there for him, she would.

Cynthia heard Trissana roar in fury again and struggled to see what was
happening.  She was so high up that she appeared as little more than a
speck.  It soon became evident that she was plumeting toward the ground
with another, smaller dragon clutching her from behind.  The pair grew
larger and larger as they fell.

Cynthia looked over, unable to resist, and saw Trevor standing with
Andahar, the nomad speaking to him earnestly.  Moments later Trissana
roared again, less harshly, and she and Bohoc leveled out.  The pair of
dragons flew off while Trevor and Andahar walked toward her apartment.

***
[Upper Green]

The group of male riders dispersed slowly.  The dragon lust had abated
and they were no longer drawn to this spot, but few of them were in any
hurry to be anywhere else.

"They've been watching," P'ker pointed across the green to where several
of the newly joined sat in the grass with their dragons.

M'yer nodded and began angling in their direction.

The trainees sitting there were mostly nomads, but there were a few
warrenborn included.

"Why you go there?" Feysal asked, "They say your dragons make you," he
gestured toward one of the warrenborn.

M'yer thought for a long moment about how to explain.  "Trissana, one of
the female dragons, rose to mate.  Our male dragons followed her hoping
to catch."

"She was in heat?" Isara asked.  As a nomad she understood the breeding
cycle of the horses that were so important to the tribe.

"Yes," P'er confirmed.

"And dragon heard has many stallions," Feysal followed, "Many stallions
must compete for female in heat."

"The males try to catch the female as she flys," P'ker explained, "The
male that catches her gets to mate with her."

Isara remembered Trissana and her rider Trevor.  "Trissana will have
hatchlings soon?"

"No," M'yer shook his head, "While all female dragons rise to mate, only
the queens lay eggs."

Isara frowned slightly at the answer, and Ankara asked, "Then why do
other females mate?"

P'ker and M'yer looked at each other and P'ker said, "I'm not sure."

"I'm sure your dragons are hungry after today's lesson.  You should
probably feed them and let them get some rest," M'yer added.

***
[Cynthia's Apartment]

Cynthia sat fidgeting on the couch in her apartment.  "Would you like
some tea?" Kellie called from the kitchen.

"No," Cynthia said standing up.  She walked toward the door.  "I can't
stand to sit here and wait anymore."

"Where are you going?" Turner asked.  "There isn't anything you can do
right now."

"I'm going to do some work.  I have to think about something else."

Kellie walked over to stand next to Turner and they watched her walk out
of the apartment.

"What do you think?" Turner asked.

"I think she's used to acting and not waiting.  It's got to be easier
for her to be doing something else that sitting here with us," Kellie
replied.

***
[Warren Library, a few minutes later - About the same time Vorbis is
with Samuel and Amberylle is with Meena and Farrin]

The first thing that Cynthia heard upon opening the library door was
humming.  It instantly struck her as unusual.  The library wasn't
frequented by many in the Warren and she couldn't remember any of them
humming.

She walked inside and followed the sound.  She found a man sitting at a
table near the windows bent over a large text.  She recognized him from
tea the previous day with Amberylle.  Davyd, she remembered his name,
hadn't said much.

"Good afternoon," Cynthia said.

He started, although she hadn't made a special effort to approach
quietly.  "Oh, I'm sorry." He stood hastily and bowed, "M'lady."

Cynthia smiled, he was charming, but she was sure he wasn't really
trying to be, "Please, call me Cynthia."

"I'm not used to such informality.  The Warren is nothing like being at
court."

"We're here to do a job, and do it as efficiently as possible.  For that
we have to work together as well as possible.  We don't have time for a
lot of formality."

Davyd nodded, "Our government can be very inefficient."

"What are you studying up on?" she asked.

"Irrigation," Davyd said with an unconcious gesture toward the open
book.  "I had been told that the land here was dry, but now I have seen
it and know that we will need to irrigate even if we settle close to the
river."

"You probably will in the dry season.  In the rainy season your crops
will have enough water, perhaps even too much.  The seasons are part of
the reasons the Nomads are often on the move.  They have to follow the
food."

"That is why I think we'll settle close to the river.  We will need the
water."

"Just remember," Cynthia said, "that the river tends to flood in the
spring with the run-oof from the mountains."

Davyd reached up and scratched his chin, "We will have to look for
evidence of flooding when we select our site.  Thank you."

"Your welcome," Cynthia said walking off toward the book shelves.
Behind her she could hear Davyd settle back into his chair.  She
returned a moment later with a book and sat down at a different table.

Davyd looked up with very little movement and regarded her from afar.
She was a strong woman to be able to run this warren.  All of the
warrens were run by strong women because their dragon queens were vital
to the survival and growth of the warren.  It was too bad that Lady
Amberylle wasn't as strong as Cynthia.  No, he chided himself, Amberylle
was strong, but Vorbis wouldn't let that part of her come out.

Cynthia sat skimming through a text on warren law.  It was quickly
becoming evident that there was no precedent for what she was
considering.  The Lost DL was just that, lost.  As far as she could see
there was no precedent for a rider, banished from the Lost DL, being
accepted into another warren.  There were some cases of banishment being
lifted, but all those involved later evidence that witnesses had lied.
She didn't think that was the case here.

Cynthia leaned back in her seat, sighed deeply and rubbed her temples.
There was no easy answer to the problem posed by Renata and Vega.  She
looked around and noticed Davyd had left.  She liked him in a fatherly
sort of way.  Lord Vorbis was another issue.  She couldn't quite figure
him out.

Cynthia stood and placed the book back where she had found it.  She left
the library and walked out of the warren into the bright evening sun.
She was heading back to her apartment when she saw them emerge from
Trevor's apartment as Triss and Bohoc settled on the upper green to
share a large buck.

Unable to resist she turned in their direction and stopped while they
approached.

Trevor walked over and took her hand while kissing her on the cheek,
"I'm all right."

She squeezed his hand and released it.  she walked the few steps to
Andahar and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you."

He nodded slightly, "You are welcome."

Cynthia turned back to Trevor, "Let's go home and get dressed.  We still
have an announcement to make."

NRPG:
I really haven't fallen off the planet.  I just didn't get a Cleft post
out while I was away, and this week has been spent playing catch-up.
You folks have been fantastic for keeping things going.  I can't thank
you enough.

John: Trevor's going to have a hard time avoiding making the
announcement now :)

Darren: Cynthia still doesn't know about Renata's "death" because she
hasn't made it back to the warren with the list.

Arlene, John, Barb: I picture a future encounter with Tervor, Cynthia,
Rein and Andahar naked in a darkened room.  It could just be my
imagination, though.

Kris G: Interesting twist.  Cousins, that makes it personal.

Kris B: What could Vorbis' intentions toward Serina be?  I'm sure
they're totally honorable <BEG>

Kate and Gabrielle: How about a Nomad perspective on the mating flight?

All: I think I have all the right addresses on the eGroups mailing
list.  If you could check the list and let me know, that would be great.

Respectfully submitted,
Warrenlady Cynthia - Cleft Warren
Alton Reich
--
    Alton & Elizabeth Reich
     alton.reich@snet.net
"Love is born with solar flares / From two magnetic poles /
It moves toward a higher plane / Where two halves make two wholes"
-- Rush, The Speed of Love

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