Jayleigh was still knee deep in paper work when she heard the 
knocking at the door. Glad of any interruption at this point 
she called out cheerfully greeting. 

"Well gee! You sound in good spirits this afternoon," the young 
queen rider Maeve quipped as she walked into the room. "All that 
work must agree with you." she smiled teasingly knowing how long 
the new warrenlady had been at it. She'd seen the light on in the 
office way before the sun had come up when Maeve, herself had 
risen, unable to sleep.

"Oh yeah!!" Jayleigh agreed frowning. "That's one of the reasons 
I called you and Rezsia in here. So you could have fun with me."
Now there was an evil glint in her blue eyes. The kind that read 
'pay back'. "By the way, where is Rezsia? I would have thought 
she'd be here by now." 

Even as she spoke the words aloud the door was thrown open and 
the girl under discussion came flying through.  "Sorry I'm late, 
I went by the medical center to check up on the girl found 
outside the gates last night." She explained as the two junior 
queen rider's sat down in the two chair in front of the desk.

"How's she doing?" Jayleigh asked suddenly concerned for the 
young girls welfare. She really needed to make a point of going 
by there later today and visit with ... 

<The human is Dyanisa, and her dragon is Sienra.> Viktroy supplied.

<<Thank you dear heart.>>

"She wasn't awake yet," Rezsia told them, "But Heron said the
the fever's down some. He thinks she'll be fine soon. But 
he said she suffering form malnutrition and dehydration. Nothing 
that some of your mother's cooking wouldn't fix up soon enough."

Jayleigh's smile was a bit ironic, "Mother's cooking will do it 
all the time."

"It's a good thing the girls not depending on you to cook her a 
meal," Maeve teased, her bright green eyes held a sparkle. "I've 
heard about your cooking from you son and Jadain told me never to 
get on your bad side or else you might invite me over for dinner."

"We eat at seven tonight, your invited." Jayleigh threatened, 
feeling happy that the young queen rider felt comfortable enough 
around her to make a joke. She knew something of the young girls 
back ground and the fact that she didn't make to many friends. 
Well she'd see to it herself that the girl was kept to busy with 
warren duties to stop and think about it.

Picking up two of the three piles on her desk, Jayleigh handed 
one to each of the women sitting before her. "As you know there 
is more work around here for one person to do by themselves. I'm 
not to pig headed to admit that I need help and that ladies...
means you're elected. You'll fine here a list of the things I 
want each of you to check out." she told them, giving them a 
minute to go over their separate list. She saw the slight frown 
cross over Maeve's lips before the girl looked up to see she was 
being watched.

Medical and beast herds..."oh great!" Maeve thought. 

"I know, it's almost as bad as having to eat my cooking," she 
said with some amusement in her tone, then became serious. "But I 
really need all of us to work together on this if we're going to 
make it work. And that means getting out and letting the people 
in this warren know we're here and that they can feel free to come 
to us if they have a problem. Just as they did with Velara."

"We wouldn't be in this mess if Velara hadn't've hid everything 
from us and let us do some of the work," Rezsia said sharply. 
"If only she wasn't so........"

"So what?" The sound of an angry male voice said from the door 
way at the same time Jayleigh spoke out. "That will be enough 
of that kind of talk." she snapped at the same time noticing 
the tall figure of R'ven standing behind the two junior queen 
riders.

"If only she wasn't so what?" he demanded of the raven-haired 
girl. The silence in the room was deafening as he waited for an 
answer.

( Tag: Sarah let's see you get out of this one!!!!)

After the two women had left to go check out the things on the 
lists Jayleigh had given them, she turned back to R'ven. "I'm 
sorry about that. I can understand how they must have felt, but 
there was no reason for her to say that."

He waved her apology off as he took the same seat he had always 
used. "I know they do have some cause to feel that way, but to 
hear the words spoken out loud at this time."

"I miss the old bitty myself," she said softly reaching a cross 
the table to touch his hand. "I still find myself looking up in 
fright each time the door opens and expecting her to come walking 
in and catch me snooping through her files when I'd needed some information.
You'll never know how scared I was."

R'ven laughed softly, his eyes meeting hers. "She knew you were 
in here and stayed away until you left. But she always knew which 
of the files you had gotten into." he told her amused as her eyes 
opened wide. "She always said that one day she was going to come 
in and scare the life out of you, see you squirm about trying to 
talk your way out of it." Then he grew quiet and Jayleigh knew he 
was visiting him memories. 

"But that's not why you called me here, is it? To talk about 
Velara?"

"Well partly in a way," she admitted. "I keep going over all this 
stuff and half of it I don't understand. I was hoping I could get 
you to come in and help me with it until I felt more comfortable 
with it all." She asked hopefully.

(nrpg: Well Lea?)

A knock sounded on the door before he could answer and as Tair'n 
came striding through, Jayleigh was thinking that she'd have to 
get someone to come in and fix the groove in the floor, all this 
traffic in and out was making.

"Amadith said Viktroy asked me to report to you, Warrenlady," he 
said with great formality. "What may I do to serve you?"

"First off you can cut the bull Tair'n," she said smoothly. "You 
don't have to worry about me replacing you as the Alpha Wingleader. 
I believe the same now as I did when Velara asked me my opinion 
about it sometime ago, that you are the best person to lead. So 
unless you do something really stupid to make me change my mind... 
Alpha Wing is still yours to command."

"Ah.. Thank you," he stammered slightly before he caught himself. 
"I won't let you and the warren down."

She nodded her head in acknowledgment. "I heard you brought in 
the girl found outside the gates last night. How is the little 
hatchling doing....?."

(Later that same afternoon. The day after Velara's death.)

Around dinner time Jayleigh decided that she'd had enough of 
being cooped up in the Warrenladie's office. The figures on the 
paper had started to run all over the sheet and that was when 
she knew it was time to pack it in for the evening. If she hurried 
she should be able to make it over to the medical center before 
she had to meet Jadain for dinner.

Calette was just leaving to go have dinner herself when Jayleigh 
arrived, but stayed to talk for a minute. 

"I was wondering how the young rider was that Tair'n brought in 
last night?" she asked.

"Oh she's fine, I just heard Herin send one of the others over to 
the hall for some of you mother's soup, for the girl. He doesn't 
want to give her anything to solid to eat just yet."

Jayleigh rolled her eyes skyward and sighed. "Does everyone around 
here know I punish my son by making him eat my cooking?

"Only when he's been bad." Calette quipped and then she was gone, 
leaving a woman planning her son's next meal.

Inside the medical hall, a woman sitting at the front desk pointed 
Jayleigh to a room down the hall. When she arrived at the right 
door she slowly pushed it open, wanting to be quiet so as not to 
wake the girl if she was sleeping. But not only was the girl awake, 
Herin was there trying to get the girl to take spoonfuls  of the 
warm broth. 

"Let me guess, my mother's cooking?" she said in a flat tone and 
saw the healer trying hard not to smile as he came towards her. 
"How is she?" Jayleigh nodded towards the girl on the bed.

"Oh she'll survive and be right as rain after a couple of good 
meals...,"

"Don't even go there or you'll be healing yourself old man." 
Jayleigh cut him off before he could make the same kind of crack 
she'd been getting from everyone else that day. She wasn't *that*  
bad a cook!

"As I was saying... "he paused to give her his best healer look. 
"She'll be fine after her body catches up on what it's been 
missing for the last few days."

"Have you talked to her to find out her story yet?

"No, we have a slight problem there," he went on to explain. 
"The girl apparently doesn't speak enough of our tongue to 
understand  or speak to us very good. So it might take sometime 
until we know anything from her."

The warrenlady turned to look at the girl and then sent a message 
to her queen. <<Troy love will you see if the young hatchling is 
awake and will tell her rider that she is safe here in the Warren 
and that she can stay as long as she would like.>>

Seconds later she saw the stunned look come a cross the girls face 
and then the most beautiful smile followed as understanding came.

<Sienra said her rider is happy to know that. They both thank you 
for your kindness.> Viktroy was quiet for a moment then," Dyanisa 
wishes to ask if there is someone here who might teach her to speak 
as we do? As We do? I hear Sienra just fine!> the dragon said.

<<I know dear, but Sienra's rider speaks differently that we do. 
Tell her we will have some one come here to see her tomorrow if 
that is her wish.>> Thinking that Amber, her son's teacher, would 
probably enjoy the challenge. Her offer was rewarded by another 
smile from that girl.

"Tank..yu" she tried to say.

"You're welcome," Jayleigh replied genteelly brush back the strand 
of white that marred the young girl's otherwise beautiful raven 
black hair, then watched as the girl fell into a peacefully deep 
sleep.

After leaving the medical building, Jayleigh had another thought
come to mind. She would need to be sure to find someone she could
send out to the othe warren's if the need arose. Like now. Tomorrow
she would ask her father to make the trip to the other warrens to
let them know of Velara's death. No maybe she had better have Troy
bespeack Banta tonight. That why Jer'lin could get an early start
Daere time in the morning.

<<Troy love?>>

<Banta's rider said yes he would be honored to help you, now 
let's get something to eat before I waist away.>

<<Carefull dragon...or I'll cook you dinner>>
--------------------------------------------------
(nrpg: Welcome to the Warren Bridget. :}

**********Submitted by: *********************
                      Barbara
       Warrenlady Jayleigh & Viktroy
                   Daere Warren
*****Submitted by:*********************
Barbara
Voices of:
Warrenlady Jayleigh & Queen Viktroy (Daere)
Tera & Sundellath (Telnor), Ga'brin & Preston (Telnor)
Dan'yar & Shinner (Cleft)
Dragonlands
(Barbara's Pern Question page)
<http://pubpages.unh.edu/~bscott/pern/questions.html>