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 [evening - day 2]

>	A quiet rap on her apartment door, brought her mind back to the
>empty apartment.
 
>    "What!" she snapped thinking it was T'rell returning again.
 
	"Mari?  It's Jason, T'rell asked me to stay with you. I just caught him
while he was leaving. What's going on?" He didn't like intruding on her
like this, but the look on T'rell's face had been enough to get him
worried.
 
	"Why can't he mind his own business?" Marialla's voice was cracking,
obviously near to tears. Jason slowly opened the door and walked in,
finding her curled up on a chair, a hurt and angry expression on her
face. He sat down opposite and looked her in the eye.

>	"You know the deal we made with Heron to get you out of the med
>centre.  If we back out of it, you'll end up back there.  Now tell me
>what's going on.  Neither you or T'rell seem to happy at the moment." 
 
>   	 "We were arguing about whether Tair'n is guilty or not.  It was
>a silly argument, but in the process of it all he used Alexis against
>me.   I don't know how he could do that.  I thought he was gentle.
>But this was mean." 

	A single tear trickled down her face and Jason unconsciously reached
over and brushed it away, the touch sending a slightly uncomfortable
tingle up his arm. He knew that she was probably overreacting, but he
was shocked to think that T'rell would have been so thoughtless. 

> 	"Hey, we all say things in the heat of an argument that we don't
>mean, and wish we could take back." 
 
>	"But just that he said it at all." she said.  "I know that we
>do.  I may have said things... "  She trailed off trying to remember
>what was said, but the >nly thing that came to mind was how she felt
>the comment T'rell made was so cruel.

...
 
>	Jason left the room and came back quickly with what he needed
>for the night he'd spend on the couch.  Mari picked up the cup of tea,
>which had done wonders for her nerves and began to leave the room.  
 
>	"You can finish that first."  Jason said.  "Unless you're that
>tired, we can talk until it's gone."

	Marialla sat there silently for a moment, staring uncomfortably
into her tea. Jason had to admit that he felt somewhat the same. In a
way it didn't really seem right to him, getting close to her like this,
but he was just helping a friend, wasn't he?

	"You miss Kalena," he stated, a cover for what he might have
otherwise said, trying to get both there minds off whatever they were
thinking about. Mari nodded.  

>	"I wish I knew how she was doing at Norwall.  But I'm sure she's
>doing fine."
 
>	"And the walks you used to take with her.  Do you miss them?" 
 
>	"I miss the time we spent together.  But I think the walks might
>bring back memories.  I really don't think Kalena would want to be
>doing them now either.
 
>	"I find walking is not only good for the body, but for the soul
>as well."  Jason said.  "I know some nice area's to walk, if you'd like
>to do that sometime."
 
>	"Well I'll think about it."  she said now being more
>uncomfortable then before.  "I think I'll head for bed."
 
	Jason sat there for a moment, wondering why he had said what he
had. Why had he brought up a subject like that? He had almost sounded as
if he were^he shook his head.

	"She's my friend dammit," he muttered to himself. "There's no
way I'm going down that path." There had been a subtle change in how he
looked at  Marialla and he didn't like where it was going. He lay back
on the couch and attempted to get comfortable. "I hope this doesn't go
on for to much longer."


****

[day 3 - morning]

>	The two joked and goofed around on the way to the dining hall.
>She had nearly forgotten about the night before until the door of the
>dining hall opened as they were about to enter and Mari nearly ran
>right into T'rell.
 
>	"Excuse me," she said as she pushed past him.  T'rell looked at
>Jason and all Jason could do is shrug.
 
	Jason could see the hurt in T'rell's eyes. It was evident that
he was disturbed by Marialla's attitude towards him. Jason resolved to
talk to him later, try and get the other side of the story and hopefully
an idea of how to talk Mari into forgiving him.

	Marialla's mentions of the Naiad's during the breakfast
conversation reminded Jason of his other task. Even though Tair'n was in
some trouble at the moment, he had still given Jason a job to do. It
would probably be a good idea if Mari was occupied for a while to give
him time to poke around a little more. It was sidestepping their promise
to Heron, but Allora wasn't that far away from the queenrider's office. 

	The Naiads had proved to be a very tight-lipped bunch of people,
especially when they were around anyone but themselves. He had been
asking around the warren about them, picking up this and that, but
nothing really good. But there was the crux of the matter. Exactly what
had Tair'n assigned him to find? 

	But he hadn't survived this long doing what he did by not taking
the initiative, which he intended to do. If Tair'n really wanted
something good on them, Jason would have to start taking a few risks.
And what was life without a few risks anyway?

	"Boring, if you ask me." He grinned to himself as he stood up
and walked out of the dining hall, fully aware of the lithe figure that
stood to follow him. And who said warren life was dull?

	After talking to a few people he had asked to keep an ear and
eye out for him, Jason decided it was time to find out who was going to
the trouble of following him. It was flattering of course, but most
annoying. He was usually adept at loosing tails, but this one was rather
interesting.

	"I could ask exactly what you're doing wandering around the
warren like that, but I'm sure it would be much more polite if you just
told me." 

Sondra whipped around, at first not seeing anyone in the shadowy
passage, then making out the figure leaning casually against the wall.
She snarled, the sly smirk on his face compounding the shame of being
picked up so easily. But wasn't that the whole idea? She straightened
up, an alluring smile replacing the snarl on her face. 

	"Well, well," she purred, "it seems you've been asking around
about us. Didn't anyone ever tell you its rude to talk about someone
behind their backs?"

	"I apologise profusely," Jason said, his voice dripping with
sarcasm. "Next time I'll be sure to come to you directly." Inwardly he
sighed to himself. Obviously subtlety wasn't one of the Naiads prime
attributes, if this one was a good example. 

	"Well I'm here now," she replied, a predatory look in her eyes.
"I'm sure we can come to a mutual agreement in which you can ask all the
questions you want." She advanced on him, smoothly pinning him to the
wall with one arm. Jason rolled his eyes.

	"Is that really the best line you can come up with?" he asked
scornfully. "Don't tell me. M'naten didn't give you enough?" That
certainly got her attention. He looked her over slowly and let a
expression of distaste slid onto his face. It had the desired effect on
her, but needed something else. He smiled knowingly at her and lowered
his voice a notch. "Or maybe you just aren't into that form of
entertainment?" 

	She hissed lightly, stepping away from him as though he was a
wraith. No one had ever spoken to her like that and gotten away with it
and she wasn't about to start here. But now was neither the time nor the
place for that, so she turned quickly and walked away, Jason's
disdainful glance following her down the passage until she was out of
sight

	"I'll get you for that," she promised herself. Better to try
again later and make him beg for it. That was her usual solution for
such people and it was remarkably effective in most circumstances. Yes,
she told herself. He'll come back for more. They always did in the end.

	Jason smiled to himself as she strode away. It was always fun to
bring someone like that back down to ground hard and fast. Did they
really think he would fall for that? Jason did admit she was pretty in a
way, but nothing that he would want to get into. At least now he would
be left alone. At least for a while.

[tag Bridget, hope this was okay :)]

****

[day 3 - afternoon]

	<Jason? Regenta's rider asked if you still wanted to take that
walk with her.>

	*Tell Reggie to tell her rider I'll meet her outside her
apartment,* Jason replied, remembering his offer to Marialla earlier
that day. It had been more a way of getting her to talk to him than
anything else, but he was beginning to look forward to the time they
were spending together. 

	<Why don't you tell her how you feel?> Starfire asked him
curiously.  <I'm sure she would understand.> Jason sighed inwardly.

	*Star, it's not like that.*

	<That's not what you're feeling, you know.>

	*How do you^oh, don't worry about it. Listen, Mari is just my
friend and nothing else, okay? I don't need you telling Reggie or anyone
else otherwise.*

	<I don't gossip> Starfire replied indignantly. Jason smirked.

	*Wasn't it you that said you would do anything Regenta asked?
What if she asked you about it? Just let it rest, Star, It's my problem
and I'll deal with it.*

	<Alright then.> Starfire didn't sound very happy and Jason
couldn't help but think it was probably a reflection of his rider's own
state of mind. He couldn't blame the dragon for trying to help him and
any other time Jason would have been glad for it, but this was something
he would rather keep to himself. Knowing the penchant for dragons to
gossip, it seemed the most sensible approach.

	"So, did you find out what you were looking for?" he asked
Marialla after he got back to her apartment. She made a face.

	"Well, not really. Everyone seems intent on coddling me and not
letting me do anything."

	"Mari, you did have us worried there for a while," Jason
reminded her. " It's only natural for people to look out for you." She
sighed.

	"I know and it's probably my fault that it got to this." She
looked at him defiantly. "But I'm not going to sit around doing nothing
forever. It's time I got on with my life."

	"Good for you" Jason replied, a smile on his face. "Now, ready?"
She nodded and they both walked out.

	Marialla was definitely jumpy as they walked slowly down the
path around the warren. Jason knew that there were memories of this
place that she could never forget, but maybe just getting out here would
help her to put them behind her. 

	She had at some stage decided to hold his hand, whether for
moral support or otherwise Jason didn't know. Now and then her grip
tightened, as though she was reliving a memory, but after each time she
seemed to relax a little more.  They didn't talk a great deal, mainly
just to break the silence, but it seemed to distract Marialla enough.

	It was fairly late when they did get back inside and Marialla
was definitely feeling better, well as far as Jason could tell. They had
a rather animated conversation with Allora over dinner and the spark
seemed back in her eye, laughing along with them when a joke was told
and telling some of her own.

	Allora was working hard on her project and Jason offered to stay
with Marialla again, since asking T'rell seemed out of the question.
Mari objected, but Jason felt that there wasn't much heart in her
argument. Finally she agreed and the friends bade each other goodnight,
Jason and Marialla leaving together. They did, however, fail to notice
T'rell watching them leave from the other corner of the room. 

	The two friends talked a little more once they got back to
Marialla's apartment before she decided to go to bed. She stood up from
her seat on the couch, then paused for a moment. 

	"Jason?"

	"Yes?"

	"Thank you."

	"Mari, you don't have to thank me. I'm your friend."

	"I know, but I haven't been the best friend in return lately.
That walk today did more for me than you know and I'm glad you talked me
into it." 

	"That's okay," Jason replied warmly. "Glad to be able to help."
Marialla smiled at him and before he had a chance to say anything else,
she leant down and kissed him softly, before walking into her bedroom
and closing the door.

[tag Dianne *grin*]

****

NRPG: Sorry it's been so long since I posted last, but I couldn't pass
up an opportunity like this :) John, what's T'rell going to do? :)
Bridget, don't be to hard on him please :P If this didnt get to anybody,
please tell me. Its annoyingly hard to mail large groups or people at
the moment.
 

Submitted by,
		Jason and Starfire
		Daere Warren


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