*** Confession Is good For The Soul***



<They are back,> Sylois told her rider while Reain was sitting in the room
of the nomad woman brought into the warren the night before. <You said to
tell you when I felt them. So I'm telling you.>

Reain could head a certain sadness in her dragon's tone but didn't question
it. In the past when she had Sy would only tell her that nothing was wrong.
Reain worried about it but knew that if things were really bad Sylois would
tell her when she was ready.

<<Thank you my love,>> the rider said, putting aside the shirt she had been
working on and got up to head for the door. Once outside she flagged down a
passing nurse and explained that she had to leave for a little while.

"Don't worry about it Reain," the nurse had told her. "We'll find someone to
sit with our mystery woman a while."

Reain thanked her and took off out of the med center, nearly racing for the
spot where Sy told her Bohoc had landed. When she arrived she watched as
Andahar and Trevor spoke to each other, though she was still to far away to
hear what was being said. Then joined by the woman who ran the Warren. A few
more words were spoken, then when the other two had left, she saw Andahar
looking after them, and wondered about the confused and angry she read in
his handsome face. Had *she* then told him about the fight. Was he angry
with her now?

"Andahar?" She whispered, seeing the fury in his eyes. Fear mingled with
love shone from Reain's own dark eyes. Had he already heard then, about her
fighting with Saleh?

Her fears melted somewhat when he gathered her into his arms.  Her body felt
just right next to his, as he lowered his head to kiss her lips passionately.

"Andahar!"  She giggled, glancing around.

"I don't care who sees us! Come Reain... I am ... tired." He grinned at her.

"Poor man... Did you get no sleep last night?" she half teased and then
wondered if he had been offered a woman to share his mat with while he was
in the nomad village. The very thought saddened her, but she knew she could
not ask him of this.

"Talks, and more talks," he told her, but his eyes still held a bit of the
confusion she had seen their upon his arrive back home. "And then more
talks. It is enough to drive a man crazy. But let us not *talk* about it my
love."

"No..." she giggled when they arrived at her apartment and walked inside.
She turned then to stand in front of him and looked up till their eyes met.
"I do not think talking is what your lips wished to do right now."

She saw the heat flair up in his eyes and a teasing smile tilted up the
corners of his lips as he stood looking back down at her.

"And *what* oh wise-woman, do my lips wished to do?"

"The same thing mine do my Lord," she said and then took a step back when he
would have reached for her. "No... Let me," she looked up at him expressing
her wish with her eyes. 

His own eyes half closed knowingly, but his hands dropped back to his side
in a silent invitation.

Reain took the step that would bring her back to stand before him, then
raised her hands up to find the wooded knobs that held his shirt together
and one by one slipped them from their loop until all were undone. Then
slowly, not taking her eyes off the exposed flesh of his powerful chest, she
slip the shirt from his body and moved closed until her lips made contact
with his heat. 

She breathed in the sent of him and it sent her mind spinning to the point
where she almost lost control of the game she was playing. But had him where
she wanted him now and wasn't about to quicken the games end.

As her hands caressed the powerful muscles in his arms, her lips opened and
with the tip of her tongue she began to make little wet circles across and
then down his warm flesh. She felt his breath catch when her hands moved to
the fastening of his leather pants and marveled at his control when she
began to release his manhood into her soft hands.

Then knelling before him, she looked up, grinning wickedly as she took him
inside her mouth and began loving him in a way she knew they both would enjoy.

...........

Hunger had finally driven Andahar and Reain to head to the Dining Hall. Once
inside Reain looked around and sure enough spotted the lying hussy who had
caused her all the trouble she was in now, seated across the room with her
father.

Reain ignored the daggers she saw in the other woman's eyes as they met,
turning instead to listen to something Andahar was asking her.

She answered him and then they went to fill their plates and found seats.
After a while she looked up and saw him frowning, looked in the direction
his eyes were looking and saw Saleh was there.

"She really isn't worth it, you know. I could give you strong baby, too!"
she said softly, thinking that was what he was thinking about.

Andahar blinked, "Hmm? Who? What are you talking about Reain?"

Reain flushed, embarrassed by her frankness, and now embarrassed that she
had been asked to explain herself.  "Saleh.  She isn't... she started it!
You have to believe me..."

Andahar just stared at her over his now forgotten plate of food. "Saleh
isn't what? What have you done, Reain?"

She frowned and looked away.

"Reain, look at me!" he commanded in a voice he rarely had ever used with
her. "What have you done?"

She turned back meeting his eyes, her shoulders squared defensively. "I did
nothing but defend myself after you left with map maker..... I too left this
hall to go about my business when she attacked me outside... then told woman
who runs Warren and others that I attacked her because you are to marry her.
She told that I did this because I am jealous of her. But I did not attack
her Andahar... please believe me. I would never do a thing that would harm
child... I only defended myself from her attack... what else could I do?"

Andahar's face grew pale, and then flushed with anger. "You fight with
Saleh? And baby? Reain what happened?"

"Baby is fine. Saleh not hurt bad..." she looked away, her hand coming up to
cover the dark bruise under her eye. Remembering now that he hadn't even
asked her about how she had gotten it, and hurt that he could think she
would hurt his child. 

"She attacked me... I did not start fight, but could not let her keep
hitting me without defending myself... Rider of Meritanth found us, stopped
fight before could get to bad and told other riders to take Saleh to healer
place. When there she told woman who run Warren, I attack her, but I did not
do this thing."

He saw the gesture of her hand touching the bruise on her face. His eyes
soften. "Stay away from her, Reain." His hand reached across the table and
brushed back the hair that she had let fall forward to hide her eye. "She is
like dessert-cat. Do not turn your back on her. I do not like to see you hurt."

Her fears were melted by the warmth in his glaze. She no longer felt afraid
that he would be angry with her for the fight... Nor place the blame on her
for it's happening. 

"She will not get second chance," she assured her lover, with a knowing
grin. "I am warn now." 

Their conversation was abruptly interrupted by the roars of the dragons.

<*My rider!  My eggs are hatching!*>  Came Sylois's excited call. <We must
go quick to see my new brothers' and sisters'>

Andahar had obviously received the same notice from his dragon and the two
abandoned their lunch and tabled their conversation in order to attend the
hatching.

The crowd converged from everywhere in the warren and surrounding areas.
They saw Reain's daughter Jaliase, with her babysitter and called her over
to them. It seemed that everyone that could be there would be there, as the
hatching of dragons, though not uncommon, was still something that you
didn't want to miss if you could help it.

"One day I will ride a dragon too papa," Jasi's face beamed as she looked up
at the man who was her father now. She had taken to calling him papa after
hearing her friends calling their own father by that name and liked it so
much she started using the term of endearment also.

<I will have my own dragon when old enough will fight bad gray things like
you and mama.>

Andahar smiled teasingly down at her. "What will you call your dragon?"

"Papa! You silly man," Jasi chided in fun. "You know dragon will tell me
name when hatched."

"then we will have to wait to find out," he replied, hugging her and then
turning his eyes back to the crowd on the sands awaiting the eggs.

It was magical, watching the mewling little dragons, emerge damp and sticky
from the eggs and make their way to the humans that would be their riders.
He held Reain's  hand and hugged Jasi in his lap, relaxing in familial bliss.

......... 

There were tears in Reain's eyes as she watched the newly joined rider's
walk off the hatching sands with their new friends. Seeing them, brought
back her own joining and once again she felt the same joy and happiness she
had felt that day all come back to her.

<Yes it was a good day,> Sylois's thoughts entered her mind. <We both found
what we were looking for that day and now we are together.>

<<Yes my love... together always,>> Reain responded and looked over at the
man she loved. Their eyes met and Andahar reached for her hand. No words
were spoken. None needed to be. Their feelings were there in their eyes.

Finally someone cleared his throat and they noticed they were blocking the
way out.

"Think we should go," Andahar chuckled when he saw Reain blushing. 

"Yes..." Reain agreed and tried to take Jasi, who was asleep now that the
excitement was over, from Andahar, but he shook his head. "She is asleep.
Why wake her. We will take her home."

"No I will take her with me for now. I can not go home just yet," Reain told
him, suddenly remembering the woman back in the med center. She really did
need to get back to her and check to see how she was doing. "Need to get
back to healing place..."

"Going back? Are you more... hurt?" his concern evident in his eyes.

"No... not me... Nomad woman who was brought in last night..." she assured
him and then told him how they had come to find the woman and bring her back
to stone Warren.

"Her tribe all gone... Killed by gray things... But two young females who
look alike, and ride dragons, found her in dessert. Fought off gray things,
then stayed with woman and child till help arrive," she explained. "Healer
man said Rider of Shinner thought it best if other nomad woman is there when
she wake so she won't be afraid."

"Is good thing to do," Andahar agreed. "We will meet later at home then?"

Reain nodded, catching her breath, for she was thinking about how they had
spent their time earlier when Andahar had come back from the trip to the
nomad village.

Her body was even reliving it now and wanting more of the same. The next few
hours watching the nomad woman wasn't going to be easy if she kept thinking
of Andi's hands and lips doing the wonderful things he did to her body.

Making love with him was so very different from the times she'd been forced
to do the same thing with her old master. 
For one thing Andahar took great pains to make sure she too enjoyed their
joining. Her old master simply took what he wanted from her and then left
her mat when it was over not caring how he had used her.

Andahar had shown her that making love could be something very special. She
no longer feared the act when she was with him.
Instead she gloried in the feelings he made her feel and somewhat powerful
to know she made him feel the same way.

As he passed her daughter to her he bent down and their lips met for a brief
but oh so charged kiss. She was grinning foolishly when he finally ended the
kiss. 

"I will see you at home later then my love," he said, his hand coming up to
caress the side of her face. 

Then his face clouded over and she grew worried.

"What will you do while I am in healing place?" she asked, wondering why he
looked sad now.

"Must speak with someone," he told her, but did not say who. "But will be
home later tonight."

They parted then and Reain took off to the medical center with her daughter
while Andahar went off to speak with whom ever it was he needed to speak with.

Reain just prayed it wasn't that she-cat or her father.

The nomad woman was still asleep when she arrived to relieve the nurse who'd
been there since she had left earlier when Sylois had told her Andahar was back.

"She's still out of it," the nurse told her, moving aside so Reain could
place a sleeping Jasi on the second bed in the room. "But her color looks
better and her breathing seems to be easier."

"Her son has been fed?" Reain asked, looking over into the smaller bed
someone had brought in for his use.

"Yes, we found a wet-nurse among the other nomad women here and she offered
to feed him," the nurse told her. "That one has enough mothers milk to feed
three babies and still not miss any of it. She'll be back in a little while
to feed him again when he wakes."

Reain nodded. It was good thing the nomad woman did for boy even if he
wasn't from her own tribe.

"I will stay here now," she told the nurse. "Maybe she wakes soon."

"Good luck," the nurse smiled and then left the room.

Reain walked to the bed and stared down at the sleeping, injured woman.

"Wake soon my lady, for your son needs his mothers arms," she then said a
prayer to the gods of her own tribe in hopes he would hear her and grant
this one wish.

Ten she settled herself into the chair she had vacated earlier and reached
down for the bag that held the makings of the shirt she was making for
Andahar. And waited to see if her prayers would be answered.

[tag Kris..... does Pua finally awake?]

****Submitted by: ****

Reain & Sylois
Cleft Warren

Aka
Barbara