**********

Cautiously, Nrocinu watched all about him from the corner in which he
crouched, ever ready to defend himself and his beloved if need be. This was
a strange place indeed, and he was not happy at all to be spirited off the
way he was. He was hungry and there was nothing about to hunt, which only
added to his angst.

A pebble skittered in his direction, drawing his attention. Ever on guard,
he tightened his grip on the handle of his dagger and leapt to his feet. A
strange woman approached, moving in a manner not unlike a predatory animal.
She made a purring noise which had a somewhat calming effect, but he was
hesitant to let his guard down. He waved the dagger about, prepared to
attack. Suddenly the woman sprang like a cat, grabbing his wrist. The pain
in his hand was unbelievable!  Nrocinu howled in pain and frustration.
Unable to maintain his grip on the weapon, it fell from his grasp and
amazingly the woman caught it before it hit the ground.

<My dagger! She's got my dagger!> his mind reeled. 

He rubbed his sore wrist, angry but unwilling to tangle a second time with
the young woman. She examined the dagger and then handed it back to him.
Still wary, he took the dagger, nodding his thanks, and clasped the handle
tightly in his hand, making sure it was safe in his possession. He held the
blade down but was still too wary to put the dagger away.

Fae'Rhee stopped her flight dance at the sound of Nrocinu's cries. She
turned in time to see a gorgeous dragon come walking into view.

"La!" she crooned as she hastened toward the beautiful creature.

Her mind cried out, <Dragon! Fly!> at the same moment as the joyous
syllable escaped her lips.

She practically beamed with glee as she stroked the muzzle of the great
beast, continuing her crooning, the dragon crooned along with her in its
own satisfied way.

<I wish I had my own dragon> she thought wistfully.

<Well, you never know...> the dragon replied.

Nrocinu watched the scene between the dragon and his Fae'Rhee cautiously
from a short distance.

<We won't hurt you.> The dragon said to Fae'Rhee and Nrocinu, but mostly to
the uneasy young man, <Tell me about yourselves. We can start with names...
mine is Sienra, the woman there is Dyanisa. We are joined, so we can talk
to each other. Most other humans can't speak to the dragons they are not
joined to like you two can, so I will help with telling her what you need
me to tell her, and I can translate what she says for you as well.>

Nrocinu relaxed visibly and the three of them talked and they told Sienra
who they were and how they ended up there.

The younger woman who had attacked him held out her hand and smiled at him
broadly. 

<It's okay, she wants to hold your hand,> explained Sienra.

<But she hurt my hand!> protested the wild young man.

<Self defense... she thought you would hurt her. But have no fear now, she
means you no harm. You can put your knife away.>

Cautiously Nrocinu took the proffered hand. It was warm and soft, unlike
his. She led him toward the dragon. He was a bit frightened, but mentally
Sienra eased his fears. He was still unsure of this giant beast who could
talk to him the way he and Fae'Rhee spoke to each other. As a show of trust
he put his dagger in his belt.

She let loose his hand and headed out the room. Nrocinu watched her warily.
Soon she returned with plates of meat and fruit and bread. Fae'Rhee and
Nrocinu sat down at the feast and turned to it with zeal, picking up whole
hunks of meat between their hands and biting into it, grease dripping down
their chins leaving streaks through the dirt. They watched their companions
warily as they ate and hurried through the meal. Not a crumb was left once
they were done, nor even an apple core.

They were led to another compartment where there were large containers of
water. Dyanisa disarmed and stripped down. And Fae'Rhee and Nrocinu just
looked at her quizzically.

<Take off your clothes, and get in the water. It is time for a bath,> came
the instructions from the dragon, who was not in the same chamber but must
have been somewhere nearby.

<Bath???> the two asked in unison.

<To clean up. So you won't itch. And you'll smell good. It's really quite
pleasant once you get used to it.>

So they took off their clothes and stood there, waiting.

<Now, get in the water.>

The water was hot, startling both  Fae'Rhee and Nrocinu, and Sienra managed
to calm them once more. It took a lot of convincing and patience to teach
them to wash themselves. Dyanisa scrubbed both of them and they howled in
pain. When it was all said and done, Dyanisa was as wet as the two bathers
were.

Dyanisa let them out of the water, their fingers and toes all wrinkled from
the water and their skin bright red from the scrubbing. The air was
unbelievably cool after the bath and the two lovers clung to each other, to
comfort each other as well as to attempt to warm themselves. Dyanisa held
out two large bumpy cloths and gestured at them. Sienra explained their
use, and they welcomed the strange garments.

Nrocinu tried to retrieve his skins, but they were pushed away from him. He
growled in dismay and was calmed somewhat when Dyanisa handed him his
dagger, and Fae'Rhee hers. Dyanisa took a metal device to Fae'Rhee's hair,
but she squirmed and screeched. Nrocinu became defensive of his mate, so
Dyanisa stopped... for now.

They followed Dyanisa to another room where Sienra was. There Dyanisa set
about getting soft fluffy big cloths and laying them down in too piles on
the floor. Finally the beds were ready and Sienra invited Nrocinu to lay
down. Soon he was snoring away loudly.

Fae'Rhee was about to follow suit and lay down on the pile of cloths
nearest to Nrocinu, but Dyanisa grabbed her arm and said something she
didn't understand. She stood her in front of a mirror. Fae'Rhee was
fascinated as she had never seen her reflection save for maybe in a stream
once in a while. Surely never so clearly as it was in the glass. Sienra
explained the mirror to her. Dyanisa took out a metal device with teeth and
started pulling on Fae'Rhee's hair. Fae'Rhee tried to run and Dyanisa
grabbed her and parked her back in front of the mirror. Sienra explained
the purpose of combing the hair and convinced the young woman to be still.
But it hurt, and she whimpered and cringed the whole while.

"Look....." said Dyanisa, but Fae'Rhee could only understand that first
word. She looked in the mirror and saw herself with her hair combed out.
Untangled her hair came down to mid thigh. With her face freshly clean, her
eyes sparkled like emeralds and her clean, combed hair shone jet black and
hung down past her behind. Soft waves were forming as the hair dried. She
smiled joyfully at the face staring back at her.

<Me???> She asked in amazement.

<Yes, that is you, all cleaned up. Dyanisa says you are very pretty, and I
agree.>

By now both women were quite exhausted from their efforts. Fae'Rhee went
gladly to go lie down on her bed on the floor. But first she moved them
closer to Nrocinu. She lay down and snuggled up to his naked body, her back
up against his front. He put an arm around her and soon she was as fast
asleep as he.
***********
NRPG: Tag Bridget!  
>From the imagination of...

                           MORGAN LE FEY
                         (morgie@indy.net)
                  The life, breath, and soul of...

                  FAE'RHEE & NROCINU (Daere Warren)
		   ARADIA & FUTHARK (Whiteriver Warren)