NRPG:

Yes, I'm well aware that Barb put out that NRPG telling everybody 
to stop. And, yes, I'm awake enough to know that I'm writing a post 
now. Barb and I discussed this and decided that this post is 
permissible. Any gripe-vultures out there looking for reasons to call 
"error" won't find them with this.

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<<
There were voices coming from the healer Noniās room when she pushed the
door open and stepped inside. She wasnāt all that surprised to find her
brother sitting there beside the girls bed or to find them laughing over
some joke or other and suddenly felt left out. So when she turned to the
girl and asked her to explain what sheād been doing out of the Warren and on
her own the other night, her tone might have sounded a little harsh.

She knew by the surprised look on her brothers face that she was being a
little rough on the girl.

"Sorry," she smiled weakly hoping to ease the tension that had come over the
room. "Youāll have to forgive me. Iāve had a few things on my mind as of
late."

"Oh I understand Mālady," Noni was quick to forgive her. "Iām just sorry to
have added to your problems."

"As to that," Jayleigh frowned. "Why donāt you tell me what you remember
about that night? And why you left the Warren without letting anyone know
you were going. That wasnāt a smart thing to do."

"Jayleigh ease off!!" Jaāks moved between her and the girl on the bed. "She
didnāt ask to be attacked."

"No she didnāt ask, brother dear," Jayleigh took note of the way heād jumped
to protect the girl. "But didnāt she realize the danger she was putting her
dragon in? Sheās not combat trained and wouldnāt of know how to protect
herself if sheād run into any kind of trouble. My point in being exactly
what happened. What if the others hadnāt of found you Noni? What do you
think would have happen to you and your Amie?"
>>

Noni took a deep breath. "Before we start having nightmares of what 
might have been, I suggest that we remember that these horrible 
ends did not happen," she said slowly. She raised her eyebrows and 
looked Jayleigh straight in the eye. "I know what could have happened 
and it did not. Others did find me, and thanks be, Ammie and I are 
healing well." She balled her hand up into a fist and hit the side of her 
bed. "Healing well, but not quickly," she said with an impatient tone.

Jayleigh regarded this spunky one for a moment, and so did Ja`ks. 
Ye gods, this girl was staying cool! He chuckled ruefully. (Heavens 
knows I didn't,) he thought to himself. 

"All right," Jayleigh conceded. "So we aren't going to stress the 
might-have-beens. That's fine. I still want to know why you were 
out there and what happened to you that my brother and his 
wingmen had to come after you!"

Noni sighed. "I went out to look for Jadain, Maeve, and Zert," she 
said levelly. "I heard that they were missing from Ammie's gossip 
and decided to go out after them."

"And you went out without Herin's permission?" Jayleigh asked 
pointedly.

"No, I had it. I asked as soon as I hatched the plan," Noni replied. 
"And before you go out bellowing at Herin that he let this defenseless 
young woman out in the woods alone, I'll have you know that I know 
how to fight well enough, and I was armed."

"Armed or not, you had no right going out there and putting yourself 
at risk! That was bloody dangerous!" Jayleigh yelled. Again Ja`ks 
stood up between her and Noni's bedside. 

"Jayleigh, calm down. This isn't helping and you have no right coming 
here to yell at this girl! She wanted to give of herself so that, as she 
hoped, a few missing people would be returned to their home here. 
If I were you, I would be thanking this lass for risking her life trying to 
find your son!"

"M'lady," Noni began, "I really don't see where I am at fault. I asked 
permission from Herin to go, and I went armed. When trouble stirred, 
I told Ammie to call for help. Where was the fault in that?" 

Jayleigh glared. "I sent enough people to find Jadain, Zert, and Maeve. 
They did. You went out, without letting me, Ja`ks, or anyone else besides 
Herin know, and got yourself hurt. That's reason enough for me to be 
angry. Every single one of my riders is important to me! You, as 
a healer and a rider, are very important to me and this warren, and 
you go out recklessly endangering yourself like some sort of fool!"

Ja`ks stood up, his face resolute. "Jayleigh, you can't do this," he 
growled. "You came in here for answers, not blood! Now CALM 
DOWN!!"

Jayleigh met his glare, paused, and sat heavily in a nearby chair. 
She took a deep breath. "All right, all right. Noni, continue telling 
just how all this happened."

Noni looked at Jayleigh for a long moment, gauging the Warrenlady's 
temper and her own, and began again. "Ammie and I were bantering 
with each other after we ate our dinner. Eventually I put down my 
bedroll and was about to sleep, but Ammie heard something in the 
bushes nearby. I told her to ignore it, as it was probably some kind 
of vermin in the bushes, but she heard it again and didn't ignore it. 
In next to no time later, she was screaming and an arrow was stuck 
in her right shoulder."

"Did the drug affect her quickly?" Ja`ks asked. 

"Very. Within moments she began to feel sleepy. It was a miracle 
she stayed awake long enough to call for help from the warren." The 
healer shuddered, and slowly turned her head to look out the window. 
*Ammie...*

<I'm all right, my rider...> The lavender dragon cooed. <You need to 
tell the other humans what you know. It would be terrible if those 
evil ones shot another dragon and rider!>

"And then...?" Jayleigh urged.

"And then some stranger came out of the woods and told me 
that I had better put my knife down or else. Then... Then Zert, 
of all people, came out of the trees. He talked to the man, 
put on a little act, and nearly got me killed." 

"How so?" Jayleigh asked intently. 

"He tried to pass himself off as some sort of farmer. He said 
that he would take Ammie, and that my chivalrous attacker 
could have me. Zert said how he detested violence, and then 
the other man turned around and asked a woman with a 
crossbow to shoot me," Noni's voice trailed off. She looked 
at her bandaged arm. "She did."

"Can you remember anything after that?" Jayleigh asked. 

"Almost. I don't trust myself with these memories, though."

"They can't be *that* bad," Ja`ks chided her playfully.

"Really? Tell me what you think of these jewels: I went 
down, screamed for Ammie, and thought I saw purple 
flames... And Zert turning into a dragon. I remember seeing 
him rip apart that stranger man. It was hideous, and I have 
no idea whether it was real or not." 

Ja`ks whistled. 

"And, a short time later, Warren help arrived and brought 
you and Ammie here," Jayleigh finished. She stood up. 
"Okay, that's all the information I need as to what happened. 
But promise me," she growled, while pointing a finger at the 
convalescent healer, "that the next time you decide to be a 
hero, you not only get permission from Herin, but from me or 
him," she said as she pointed to her brother, who put up his 
hands in mock surrender. "I trust I am making myself 
resoundingly clear?"

"Yes, Warrenlady," Noni said, never taking her eyes from the Warren 
Head's face. "You are." 

"Very well. Get well soon, Healer Noni, and I hope to see you 
back at your post soon," Jayleigh said with a smile and a nod 
as she stepped out of the injured healer's room.

"Well, now... She certainly was in rare form today, wasn't she?" 
Ja`ks asked with a laugh. "You took her redress well. Even gave 
a little of it back."

"I'm glad I don't have to hear from her again on this for a while, 
though," Noni said with a sigh. "Too much of her 'in rare form' is 
hazardous to a person's health, whether they're well or bedridden!"

Ja`ks waved that off with a laugh as he stood up. "I'll let you go to 
recover from that little hazardous bout. No one -- healer, rider, or 
Warren cook -- has been able to convince me that rest is not best 
for recovery." With that, he stepped out of the room.

Noni lay her head back on her pillow and sighed. It hadn't taken long 
for her to become thoroughly sick of this place. She wanted to 
be walking around, doing as she pleased, and not restricted to this 
room by restrictions she herself would have adamantly approved... 
unless, of course, she was the patient to whom the restrictions 
applied. Again she looked out the window. 

*Ammie, I want out of this place.*

<What good are you if you leave while you're still hurt? Stay. 
Rest. You may not be able to get so much time to yourself 
for a long time!>

*I suppose you could be right about that. This is the only 
job in the Warren that doesn't guarantee time off.*

Ammie chuckled. As her healer friend's soulmate, she knew 
all too well the rigors of work in the Med Center. <Besides, 
if you leave, I might have to leave Sprarroe, and I don't want to 
do that anytime soon. He's a very nice beast. I might let him 
catch me when I rise to mate!>

*Oh, no, dearest... You're not rising to mate if I have anything 
to say about it. You know how I feel about mating.*

<Ohh, I know... But the good feelings would be so good for 
you! Dragons know these things! You should trust my reasoning 
for once...>

*I'm trusting my own reasoning. For now, the only thing good for 
me is sleeping. That way I won't have to sit awake through my 
extended sentence!*

Noni drifted off to sleep amid the mental chuckling and joking 
of her dragon, and the thoughts the creature's comments had 
spurred. Noni dozed with a smile on her face.
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Clear Skies and Seas,
Paula Sandusky 

Noni/Ammie of Daere
Domaia/Lyric of Norwall