**Just before dawn**

R'ven awoke with a start. He felt Dyanisa's warm body pressed against
his and his thoughts drifted back to earlier in the evening. 
Leaning on his elbow, he watched the candlelight flicker across her
skin. Her hair cascaded across the pillows like a dark halo. He
reached out and gently toyed with the white strands that fell across
her cheek. She stirred slightly and a smile crept over her lips.

He lay back staring at the ceiling. Damn, he thought, why did it have
to be her first time? He wasn't particularly into deflowering virgins,
had Rven known he'd have tried to have made in more comfortable for
her. But with dragons being involved, well...

It wasn't until their dragon's appetite had be sated had he realised
it was her first time. The blood smeared across her thighs and his
were a good indication.

He'd apologised and she seemed mystified as to why he should be sorry.
He'd laughed when she said that the experience had been wonderful.
Thats when he decided to bring her back here, to show her just how
wonderful love making could be.

He took his time, wanting her to feel special, even removing her
clothes he'd added mystic to such a simple task, as did the kissing
and licking of her skin as it became exposed.

Not wanting her to be afraid, he whispered encouragement, praised her
body, caressing the scars that criss-crossed her back. He didn't want
her to feel that because of them she wasn't pretty, something that she
should be ashamed of. Most importantly he needed to make her feel
desired and exciting.

R'ven had smiled down at her as she lay gasping for breath, licking
the beads of sweat that were outlining her upper lip. It was then that
he'd suggested a bath.

He filled the huge tub with warm water, adding sweet smelling oils.
Picking up Dyanisa, he carried her to the bathroom and gently lowered
her into the fragrant depths.
R'ven joined her. Grabbing a large sponge he began to drizzle water
over her body. He delighted in the way her nipples responded, and he
encouraged her to explore her own body as well as his.

Her hands did her *seeing* and she tentatively explored his face. He
sucked on her fingers as they slid over his lips. Her giggle was
captivating and although her eyes could see nothing, R'ven noticed
that they sparkled  and changed colour as she moved her head in the
flickering light.

He pampered and spoilt her, hoping that the experience would make her
see that she was a very sensuous woman.

They had ended up sitting on the floor by the fire and R'ven set about
drying and combing her hair. She had objected but he'd insisted, the
pout on her lips was lifted with a kiss.

After the third yawn, R'ven lifted her to her feet and in one movement
gathered her into his arms, curling against his chest, he carried her
to the bed.

**********************************************************************
**Late morning**

He awoke with Zenith shouting in his mind.

*R'ven! They've hurt Tair'n's hatchling!*

*What? Cal'an is hurt? Where is he?* 

He struggled  with the sheets that had wound their way about his body.
He stopped suddenly realising that Dyanisa was still sleeping soundly.

She looked so peaceful, radiant even. He leant over and kissed her
forehead, amorous thoughts feeding his mind.

*Not now, 'Ven!*

*Ok, I hear you,* he muttered as he moved silently around the room
gathering his clothes.

He ran his fingers through his unruly hair as he opened the door to
the apartment and ran towards the med centre.

*****

Shaidin's Office

He felt sick, colour draining from his face. How much more could
Tair'n take, he wondered. It had to stop and fast before someone else
was hurt through misguided prejudices and ignorance. The flames of
self righteousness were being fanned by people like T'or. Misinformed,
misguided by a man who disliked Tair'n because he had what T'or
wanted...  power and respect. 

R'ven had learned a long time ago that you don't have to be liked to
be respected. It had to be earned, you just didn't get it
automatically.

"Something has to be done R'ven," Jayleigh said forcefully. "They have
to
know what really happened in that cave all those days ago. What we
have to
decide is how to go about telling them. I'm sure once the truth is out
*they* wouldn't be able to blame him for killing her. Don't you see
it's the
only way!"

He looked at the woman who was trying, not only to hold herself
together, but looking for solutions to keep the warren from civil war.

R'ven nodded his agreement. "You don't have to convert me, Jayleigh,"
he sighed, "it's them out there." He inclined his head towards the
window. "You know I will do whatever is in my power to resolve the
situation."

>"May I make a suggestion?" Shaidin asked.
>
>The two turned to her.
>
>"First, I think avoiding publicising this is only going to hurt Tair'n. 
>It builds on his years of shame so deep he wouldn't even remember it.  He
>needs assurance that this is nothing to be ashamed of-- that he was a
>victim in all this.  He also needs assurance that what he did will not
>come back to haunt him-- that his actions had some justification.  I know
>you've both done this, as have I.  It isn't enough.  Avoiding any sort of
>formal procedures in this case smacks of preferential treatment-- to the
>warren *and*, more importantly, to Tair'n.  His mother and her dragon died
>by violence.  Their death must be looked into."
>
>"Are you suggesting we put Tair'n on trial?" R'ven asked.
>
>"Yes and no.  In cases like this, it isn't uncommon to have a hearing to
>determine if there's grounds for a murder charge.  If, at that hearing,
>sufficient proof can be given that it was self-defense or justifiable
>homicide, the case needn't go to trial."
>
>"So, you want a hearing?"
>
>"I don't want anything," Shaidin answered.  "I am telling you, as a person
>trained in human thinking and interaction, what I see as being the best
>way to handle this.  It brings the particulars of the case into the open
>and clears Tair'n, not only to this warren, but to his own mind."
>
>The two considered this for a moment.
>
>"Oh, one other thing," Shaidin said.  "Because Jayleigh is known to be
>biased in Tair'n's favour, it would be best if you found a non-biased
>person to head up this hearing.  There should be no doubts in anyone's
>mind when this is over that justice was done."
>

Jayleigh sat down heavily on the sofa, burying her head in her hands.

"Shaidin's right, Jayleigh. It will hold credence to whatever the
outcome. It will be seen by the majority that you don't  take your
responsibilities lightly and that you put the good of the warren
first. If you don't you will be open to continual criticism, there
will be distrust and you will loose credibility as a competent
Warrenlady."

R'ven sat next to Jayleigh, lifting her tear stained face up and
gently pushing strands of her black hair from her cheeks.

"Oh 'Ven what am I going to do?"

"*We*  kitten, are going to wash that pretty face, take a deep breath
and put on a brave smile," he smiled ruefully.

Her dark eyes shone with remaining tears and she sniffed, before
smiling back at R'ven.

He looked up at Shaidin who was already on her feet and walking to the
door.

"I'm sure you will come to the right decision, Jayleigh. It's not an
enviable position to be in. Responsibilities not only for your child
and your lover, but the warren too. You have to be seen as a strong
woman who knows where her duty lies. Your life is one of juggling.
>From what I have seen, here  is a woman of great determination. A
woman who fights for what she believes in, even if it brings great
personal pain. Don't shun help. It will come from unexpected corners.
A good leader will know how to utilize her resources."

As Shaidin opened the door for R'ven as he escorted Jayleigh  from the
office, the slim dragonrider turned and kissed the mind healer.

"What was that for?" she blushed, her hand going to the damp spot on
her cheek.

"For being here," was all R'ven said.

*****

They sat waiting outside Cal'an's room, Tair'n, Jayleigh, Realee and
R'ven.
Each deep in their own thoughts.

When Jadain joined them it was obvious that the boy  had been beaten
too. A bruise was developing around his eye.

Jayleigh rose from her place and gathered her son into her arms.

>"Is Cally gonna be okay Mom?" he asked, his dark eyes pleading for her to
>tell him his friend would be fine. "I called to Troy and Amadith as soon as
>I saw what was going on, but I couldn't stop them. I tried!!"

She tilted her son's head to the light.

>"Did you get this trying to help Cal'an?" she asked, her anger building again.
>
>"It's nothing really," he told her. "Mickile did it after I kicked him when
>he first pushed Cal'an." 
>
>"Well Mickile's father will hear from me about this as will the parents of
>the others."
>
>She turned back to glance at her lover and the man sitting next to him, with
>his arms wrapped around him.

>Realee was still there on the bench across from them. She'd refused to go
>until she'd found out how her charge would fair. The older woman cared for
>the young son of Tair'n's, as if he was her own grandson. 
>
>She got up when she to noticed the bruise forming under Jadain's eye and
>came towards them. Not saying a word to her daughter, but saying plenty with
>her eyes, Realee took her grandson and walked him back over to the bench to
>sit down with her.

Once Herin had told them that Cal'an was stable, R'ven made his
excuses.

"I won't be long Tai," he said kissing his lover gently on the lips.
"Get Amadith to bespeak Zen if you need anything."

"Thanks, Ven," Tair'n sighed, his face pale and drawn.

R'ven followed Herin round the corner to his office.

"Herin." 

The blond healer turned as the dragonrider called his name.

"What can I do for you, R'ven?" he asked as he opened his office door
and indicated for R'ven to enter.

Sitting down on the edge of the desk, R'ven regarded the man.

"What are his chances?"

Herin slipped his hands into the pockets of his coat, sighing he
replied,

"It's about fifty/fifty at the moment. If we can control the internal
bleeding and no infection gets in, Cal's chances will increase each
day. But for the moment it's a very fine balance."

R'ven lowered his head to his hand, rubbing his eyes with his fingers.

"Yea gods," he whispered, "what a fucking awful mess!"

Looking back at Herin, who had walked over to a cupboard, R'ven asked,

"Do you have Cal'an's clothes?"

Herin looked up, shurgging he said, handing R'ven a glass of golden
liquid,  "Yes, why?"

The dark haired man took the drink and sniffed it. It smelt foul.

"What in hades name is this?"

"It's an old herbal drink, calms the nerves and clears the brain. It
doesn't taste *too* bad." Herin sat on the chair opposite R'ven. "So
why do you want Cal's bloody clothes?"

R'ven grimaced as he knocked back the foul drink. It stung his lips.
Shuddering he continued, "The boys that did this don't know that Cal
is a haemophilliac. They need to be shown how much blood the boy lost.
Shock tactics are needed so that this sort of thing doesn't happen
again... to any child.!"

"True, but will they listen?"

"Oh they will listen and they *will* understand!" the dragon rider's
voice was vehement.

Leaving the healers office R'ven leant against the wall. Closing his
eyes and rubbing the bridge of his nose, he let his breath out slowly,
trying to gather his thoughts.

He felt someone touch his arm. slowly he opened his eyes to be met by
a pair of concerned green pools.

*nrpg: insert Niki's post Reflection and Anticipation*


*****

Following morning.

R'ven walked into the class room of students. There fell a hushed
silence as he placed a holdall on the floor infront of the desk, which
he then leant against.

He studied the fresh faces. Most eyes were on him, except for  a few.
Those eyes looked anywhere but at him.

"Can anyone tell me how many pints of blood there are in an adult
human body?"

There were confused looks on the young faces and a quiet mumbling,
like distant bees.

A girl raised her hand, R'ven nodded to her.

"I think it's about nine pints isn't it R'ven?" she smiled nervously.

"Close enough, Mishla. It is about eight to ten pints."

The girl beamed as her neighbour congratulated her.

"Mickile," he paused as the gauche youth looked up. R'ven watched the
boy's adams apple bob up and down as Mickile swallowed hard.

 "How many pints of blood in a small child of say...  seven or eight
years of age?" R'ven's black eyes focused on the tall teenager.
Mickile went scarlet, looked down at his desk saying nothing.

"Richanis, do you know? Or what about you, Pieter? S'tel? Coran? I'd
ask
Torne, but he's with the Warrenlady at the moment."

The five boys he'd picked out looked up at him and they all visibly
paled.

Moving away from the desk and lifting the holdall, R'ven walked over
to a worksurface near the sink.

He took out a small white shirt  and a pair of boys jeans. He lay them
on the floor and proceeded to fill a pint measure with water to which
he added a blood red pigment.

The students gathered round, chairs scrapping on the wooden floor to
see what the man was doing.

R'ven tipped the liquid slowly over the shirt, the material soaked up
as much of the fluid as it could. He did it again. This time a red
pool seeped out over the floor and started to soak into the faded
jeans.

He did it a third time. "This is as much blood as Cal'an lost after he
was beaten. A child of his size has about six pints of blood," his
face composed but his eyes burned dangerously as he moved towards
Mickle. The other dozen or so students followed R'ven with their eyes.

Mickile backed away from R'ven.

"It wasn't my idea. Torne said we should do it. He said it would teach
Tair'n a lesson for what he did to Miren," his voice hysterical. "Ask
Pieter or Coran, they were there."

R'ven took Mickile by the arm and dragged him to the stained clothes.

"Look!" he pushed Mickile to the floor. "I said look! "

Mickile glanced breifly at the bloody mess and wretched.

"I take it that most of you want to be dragon riders?" R'ven walked
calmly away from the sobbing youth and took up his position against
the desk.

There were mutterings of yes from the small group.

"Let me tell you now," his voice filling with anger, "if Cal'an dies
there isn't a dragon in this warren that would want to be paired with
a murderer. Because that is what you will be."

Coran stood up and laughed at R'ven.

"Is that so?" he sneered. "Well let's see, Tair'n killed his mother
and her dragon died. And lo and behold he joined at the very next
hatching. Puts your theory to shame doesn't it?"  he gloated,
spreading his arms wide to the class to make his point.

"Yes he did join, because a dragon knows an innocent heart. Besides I
think that if any  of you involed in this attack set foot onto the
hatching sands, the queen will flame you!"

"Pah! You are making idle threats R'ven."

R'ven's lips curled into a hard smile.

"That I maybe, but are you willing to set foot on the sands at the
next hatching?"

******

R'ven collected his food and made his way over to Kayla and Ar'Aman.
He was pleased that the girl had found someone who obviously cared
deeply for her. She needed someone after  the terrible things that had
happened to her at the hands of Dan'tray.

They chatted for awhile as R'ven ate. When they made their excuses to
do some shopping, R'ven rose, "Ar'Aman could I have a moment with
Kayla please."

R'ven noted the frowm of concern cross the young man's face. Grinning
at him, R'ven said, "Don't worry I promise to give her back without
the fathelry advice."

Ar'Aman waited as R'ven talked to his love.

"I have a favour to ask of you, Kayla," his eyes searching her's.

"You look very serious, R'ven," all trace of amusement vanishing from
her face.

"I need you to give account of what happend to you at the cave and
what you did."

He watched as the colour drained from her face.Before she could reply,
he added quickly, "I know what I ask is alot, but I need you to help
Tair'n. I need you to tell them what it's like to be abused and
beaten. You would also have to tell them what really happened to
Dan'tray."

"R'ven... I... gods..."

Looking down at her he stroked her cheek, "I will understand if you
say no. Don't answer me now. Think about it, talk it over with your
young beau."

Kissing her forehead, he smiled sadly at her and pushed her in
Ar'Aman's direction.

"Go and have fun and let me know what you decide."

*****

He sat once again in yet another room in the Med Centre. In his hand
he looked at the button he'd found laying against a wall where someone
had thown a rock at Tair'n but hit his daughter instead. It matched
another one he found... in Miren's dead hand.


R'ven and Zenith


nrpg:

 well I've kinda caught up. Sorry bout the weak ending :( but time is
running out!

If I have missed a tag, messed up with timelines or not reread
previous posts more thoroughly, I'm sorry :(

What with the move tomorrow and Christmas in four days it's been hell!

Please don't anyone tag me, Have R'ven at the hearing cos he will be
there.

The pooters get packed away tonight so I won't be around till
Christmas eve

*hugs*

Lea
>



Simple things please simple minds, while bigger fools look on.