Renata
(C'aranth's quarters, after the mating flight)

>>"I am afraid my relationship with her is a bit strained.  Having been the
one to stab a wing leader as well as openly fight in the dining hall.  I doubt
she would like to hear how I want her to make me part of the warren.  I think
she is half way to considering casting me out to live with the land bound."
He let his body fall back to the bed, pulling her with him.  "Besides, it
gives me time to think."

>>She looked at him, her eyes looking right through him.  She could tell by
the way he spoke trying to justify his lack of position.  He wanted to have a
job in the warren, something he could do.  But she could also see he was too
proud to ask for it either.  "I see, if that is what you want love."  She
kissed him softly.

     "It is," he said, after their lips had parted.

     "C'aranth," she began hesitantly, "you said that you expected to join.
If so, it seems to me that we need to do something about that.  If you do, it
probably won't be here...Syren clutched just recently herself, and Rysa is
just a hatchling herself...and I understand that the junior queen has left for
another warren.  I don't like to bring this up, but...well, if you do join, I
think it has to be soon."

     C'aranth nodded.  "My age, you mean."

     "Yes," she said.  "You're in your mid-twenties, and you know as well as I
do that that's right on the borderline of the age where joining is no longer
possible."

     "What are you thinking?" he asked.

     "I know the Nomadlands fairly well, especially the southern area around
Jhezrael," she said.  "Except for Zelandreth and her group, wilders didn't
dare venture very close to that place because of Rashevon.  But a bit farther
to the North, in the mountains, there was an area where a fair number of them
lived.  Chances are, we'd find one or more clutching queens there."

     C'aranth nodded slowly.  "Perhaps that is the answer, then."

     "We could go there now, tonight," said Renata.  "We'd have a better
chance to do some scouting in the dark than in broad daylight."

     "Let's go, then," he said.

***********************           
     
Trissana

>>Syren and Bohoc both laughed at the younger dragon.

>>But Syren persisted, <Why do you say that your rider is soon going to be as
happy as ours?>

>>Bohoc opened his eyes and looked up at the beautiful swirling eyes of Syren,
<Because he just acquired a female for himself!  Sylois' rider.>

>><Acquired?>  Syren questioned.

>><Well, from what I can understand, her uncle just gave her to him...>

>>Syren pondered that for a moment. She wasn't familiar with the terms that
Bohoc was using, and sent a query to her soul mate.

>><*Cynthia?  What does Bohoc mean when he says that his rider just "acquired"
Sylois' rider?*>

     <<Well?>> Triss asked, after a moment.  "What does your rider say?>

     <<She did not know of this, but will try to find out,> the queen replied.
<Now, where were we?>>

    <<Cuddling,>> Bohoc reminded them.

    <<Say there is something I would like to try,>> Triss told them.  <>  She
leaned over and pressed the end of her muzzle against Bohoc's.  <<It's called
kissing.>>

     <<How odd,>> Bohoc said.  Triss gave it her best effort, but no matter
how she tried, she couldn't seem to get it right.  She sighed in frustration,
and drew back.

     <<The problem is, our muzzles aren't designed for that,>> Syren told
them.  <<However, there is a dragon-equivalent if you're interested in
learning it.>>

     <<Oh, yes!>> Triss cried happily.

     <<Here, let me show you,>> the queen said, sliding the side of her own
muzzle along the side of Bohoc's.  She parted her lips, and slid her tongue
out.  Bohoc did likewise, and their two tongues began to intertwine as they
pressed their muzzles tightly together.  <Mmmmm....> the queen said happily.

     <<Mmmm....>> Bohoc agreed.

     Triss craned her neck around, trying to see this technique from every
possible angle.  <Oh, I see now,> she told them.  <<Yes, that *does* look like
fun!  I can't wait to try it!>>

     Both the great queen and the smaller green dragon were wriggling with
pleasure as their sensitive tongues slid back and forth against each other.
<<Mmmm...>> they said in unison.

     Triss drummed her claws against the edge of the bed impatiently.  <>

**************************
Trevor
(dining hall, right after the announcement)

>>From within the crowd, a head and shoulders emerged as Turner first
climbed up on a chair and then a table, "That's not why we were all
here!" he bellowed.

>>The noise level died down some and Turner continued, "We're here because
Trevor and Cynthia have decided to be mates."

>>"What about you and Kellie?" someone shouted."We're going to be mates too."
The crowd cheered again and swarmed toward Trevor and Cynthia.  Before
they could get to them, Cynthia asked, "Did you two plan this?"

     "Well, not exactly," Trevor hedged.  "Actually, I figured that by the
time Turner said that, you and I would be on our way out the door."

     "So the Master of Misdirection misjudged his timing for once," Cynthia
said, smiling.  "You know they'd all have found us quickly enough anyway.
Between the two of us, we don't have a single available dragon right now who
could have carried us off to someplace more secluded and romantic."

     "So I guess we'll just have to take our medicine," Trevor agreed as the
crowd of well-wishers swarmed around them.

     One after another, their friends gave their heartfelt congratulations to
the newly announced union.    "We're all very happy for you," said Dan'yar,
motioning for Lonnie to bring up the tray of wineglasses he was carrying.  He
handed glasses to both Cynthia and Trevor, then took one himself.

     "I propose a toast!" he called out to the assembled crowd.

     "Toast!! Toast!!" everyone cried back.

     "To the happy couples!" he said loudly, raising his glass up over his
head.  "May they find all the happiness in the world together!"

     The assembled riders and warrenfolk broke out into wild cheering.
Outside, they were surprised to hear the dragons of the warren roaring loudly
in response.

     *What's that all about?* Trevor asked.

     <<They are responding to the happy feelings they are getting from their
riders,>> came Trissana's sleepy response.  <>

     *Thanks Cupcake,* he said, turning to Cynthia.  "I'm...overwhelmed by all
of this," he admitted.

     "I think we both are," she said happily.

     Someone suggested that dancing might be appropriate for the occasion, and
before long a group of warrenfolk who played musical instruments had been
assembled into an impromptu orchestra.  There were a couple of false starts,
of course, until B'rand set down his own instrument and volunteered to act as
conductor until the other players had gotten the rhythm down.  The lamps
ringing the interior of the dining hall were turned down enough to make the
place suitably dark for such a romantic occasion.  Tradition was strictly
observed in that the new couples were given the hastily cleared dance floor to
themselves for the first number.

     "Is this the same dance we did the other time in here?" Trevor asked as
he and Cynthia moved gracefully in time to the music.

     "I'm really not sure," she admitted.  "I do remember that I provided the
music that time."

     "And now it's being provided by the Cleft Warren Orchestra," Trevor
observed, "conducted by a man using a sword instead of a baton."

     "Still, it's very romantic," Cynthia told him.

    "Yes it is," he agreed, as they drew closer and kissed without missing a
single step in the dance.  For that moment, they forgot that the dining hall
was filled with people, and had eyes only for each other.  "But tonight is
different in another way, too."  Seeing her questioning look, he went on.
"Tonight is the beginning of forever...for us."   And they leaned into one
another once again, and their lips met.

(Tag Alton - I assume they've got a *little* time for romance before the real
world intrudes again! :)

*************************

Kellie

     She and Turner also found themselves dancing in front of the crowd, and
to her it was no less romantic than for her son.  Of the four of them, she was
the only one who'd been in this situation before.  But to her delight, she
discovered that night that finding a mate was just as wondrous and exciting as
it had been for her all those years ago at Keldarra.  Maybe even better this
time, because she was able to truly appreciate what she was gaining.  When the
first number ended, she and Turner slipped back to the edge of the crowd.

     "Kellie, I'm so happy for you!" said Meena, embracing her patrol partner,
after Kellie and Turner had managed to reach the edge of the area that had
been cleared as a dance floor.

     "Thanks!" said Kellie, surprised by the excitement that all of this had
generated.  "I'm...overwhelmed!"

     Farr'in was there too, and happily clapped his brother on the back.
"Congratulations, Turner," he said.  "I hope that the two will find as much
happiness as Meena and I have."

     "I'm betting we will," said Turner, grinning from ear to ear.  "Actually,
I was thinking that Kellie and I would slip out right now and get started..."

     "Ah-ah," said Farr'in, moving to block Turner's exit.  "Have you two
forgotten something?"

     Kellie glanced around her, and then realized what Farr'in was talking
about.  "Yes, Turner, we have.  Your parents are making their way over here
right now."

     "You two weren't thinking of just slipping out without giving them a
chance to give you their best wishes, were you?" Meena asked.

     Turner's eyes narrowed.  "Kellie...did we think to tell my parents about
this in advance?"

     "Ah, no, we didn't," she admitted.  "You think they might have something
other than best wishes to give us?  Like maybe a royal dressing-down for
forgetting to tell them...?"

     Meena winced.  "Don't you think that might have been a good idea?" she
asked.  

     "Really," agreed Farr'in.  "Granted, they probably suspected that
something like this might be coming, but..."

     "Well, I think we did talk about telling them first," Kellie said.  But
he only asked me this morning, you know...and then there was that business
with Triss..."

     Turner cleared his throat, and took Kellie by the arm.  "I think it might
be better, not to mention safer, if we met them halfway," he suggested.

     "I think that being your mate is going to be not only exciting," said
Kellie, as they made their way through the crowd, "but dangerous."

(Barb - over to you!:)

****************************

>>Cynthia was dancing with Trevor when her arm was caught and she was turned.
C'aranth held her arm,  "Warrenlady I must talk with you, alone."  He stepped
away, the crowd folding in behind him.  Cynthia patted Trevor's arm and
followed.

     Knowing that this must be warren business of some sort, he resisted the
urge to follow her.  Instead, after she'd gone out the door with C'aranth, he
made his way in that direction in hopes that he'd quickly hear what was going
on as soon as she came back.  The look he'd seen on C'aranth's face told him
it was something important.

    He decided to get a breath of air.  Whether it was the wine or being in
the midst of such a crowd, he was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded.  He
took another exit, and soon found himself out on the lower green.

     "I am surprised to find you out here."

     Trevor turned at the sound of the voice, and was surprised to see
Andahar.  He felt a sudden nervousness come over him. He'd said they needed to
talk, and they did.  But he hadn't expected it to come so soon.  "Likewise,"
he told the young Nomad.  "I thought the whole warren was crammed into the
dining hall."

     "It is not my way to be with crowds," Andahar told him. "It is not Nomad
way."

     "Nor mine either," Trevor agreed.  "I spent most of my life alone, until
I met Trissana...and Cynthia."

     Andahar nodded.  "I am last of my tribe, Tribe of Anavasha.  I too was
alone before I met Bohoc...in spirit, if not in body.  Alone until I found
Cleft Warren."

    "I...wanted to thank you again," Trevor told him.  "If it weren't for you
and Bohoc, I don't know what would have happened to Triss this evening...or to
me."

    "He cares deeply for her," Andahar ventured.  "I am told that this
is...unusual...for dragon.  But not for dragonraidah."

    "No, not for dragonriders," Trevor quietly agreed.  "I didn't expect what
happened this evening.  I thought that when Trissana's time came, I could stay
apart from it.  But I couldn't.  This morning, I couldn't conceive of
something like this happening...and now, I have to admit that I'm more than a
little confused about it all."

(Tag Arlene)


Submitted by:

John

Trevor & Trissana
Kellie & Varie
Renata & Vega

Cleft Warren

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