--o0O SNIP 0Oo--

** You Can't Bring Back The Dead **

Her heart jumped at his touch. He was going to kiss her and she wanted him
too. It had been so long since she had felt a man's touch. So long since Ari
had held her like this..... Made love to her.

She looked into the eyes she knew so well and silently begging him to go on.
Reality faded into dreams and once again she was with the man she loved.

"Please Ari... Kiss me." She begged without thinking and her eyes closed as
she waited for his lips to cover hers, so she didn't see the hurt that came
into his.

Lips covered hers, and she sighed. It was so nice... but why didn't he kiss
her like he used too... She lifted her hands up to wrap around his neck,
meaning to deepen the kiss and let him know what she wanted.

He obliged her silent request, but it still felt wrong. It wasn't the same.
Something was missing.

Slowly she moved away and opened her eyes to stare up at him.

"You're not Ari," she said, and saw the sadness was back in his eyes.

--o0O SNIP 0Oo--

D'Altar had known the girl would feel it, even if she refused to see it. She
looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"I know. But that is what you called me when you asked me to kiss you."

She looked as if she might cry. D'Altar reached out and took her hand.

"You are a beautiful young woman, Kayla, and your mate would be proud at how
much you care for him. But it is him you care for, not me. You know that
now, don't you?"

"Yes!," she cried, "I'm sorry. I so wanted it ... I wanted another chance
..."

She began to cry and he pulled her into his arms. She resisted a little,
saying "You're not him," but soon she accepted the embrace.

"D'Altar, I'm so sorry..."

"There is nothing to be sorry for. I feel responsible. I have brought
unpleasant memories to your home and I think I should ask Jayleigh for a
transfer to another place."

"No, you musn't! I would never be able to forgive myself. Please, promise
you won't!"

"OK, Kayla. I promise you."

They began to walk back to the dining hall and Kayla's tears began to dry.
As they parted, D'Altar smiled at her.

"You must let him go. He would not want you to waste away or waste your
life. You will always love him, and he will always love you, but life will
go on. You will honour his memory if you become a part of it again."

She tried to smile back at him, but D'Altar could see she had a long way to
go...

He decided he'd had enough excitement for one day. He turned to head back to
his quarters.

--o0O SNIP 0Oo--

**Do These Come In Wash And Dry?**

She'd been sitting there for sometime thinking about the path her life had
taken when she saw someone walking by. A man by the set of his shoulders,
and as he started to pass by under the ledge she recognized the new rider,
D'Altar.

"Settling in okay?" she called out and saw his body tense slightly before he
looked up and saw her sitting there with her legs hanging over the caves
edge.

She raised a glass to him in apology for startling him. "Care to join me for
a glass?" she asked. "It's a Marrid Red... Definitely not a wine to refuse
when offered."

"A man would be crazy to turn down a Marrid Red," he smiled sheepishly and
bowed slightly from the waist. "Or the company of his Warrenlady."

"Ahh... but you see the deal tonight is... I'm just Jayleigh... not the
Warrenlady. I just want to be a normal person for a little while and forget
I'm suppose to be running this place."

"M'lady you could never be just a normal person, but for tonight I will try
to ... forget that," he said with some amusement in his voice as he joined
her and accepted the wine she offered.

"So how have you been getting on with settling in?" she asked.
"If you need anything be sure to ask. We'd like to see you happy here in
Daere."

"I'm afraid there is one person who may not be to happy to have me here," he
said, and she could tell it bothered him greatly.

"Kayla?"

He nodded.

"I'm afraid that I bring back sad memories for her and tonight I pulled
something I might not should have?"

"Oh?"

"She's a nice girl and all, but I can't be who she wants me to be," he told
her. "I can't be the man she was in love with."

"Did you let her down gently?" thinking she knew what he had done.

"As gently as I could," he nodded. "We came to an understanding of kind."

"But you didn't like having to hurt her?"

"No.... But I felt I couldn't let it go on any longer and hurt her worse
later."

"I wouldn't worry about it," Leigh told him placing her hand on his arm.
"Kayla is a stronger woman then she knows. It'll just take her sometime, but
I don't think she'll hold it against you for long."

"I hope not."

They were both silent for a few moments, each enjoying the darkness of the
night and the taste of the wine.

"This is good," he told her and held up his glass when she offered to refill
it. Hers, she left alone thinking she'd already had enough.

"So tell me about yourself D'Altar?" she asked. "The good stuff... Not the
stuff you would tell the Warrenlady. But the stuff that makes you who you
are....."

"What would you like to know?" he asked slightly pleased by this side of her
he hadn't know existed.

"Everything." Anything to keep me from feeling lonely for a while longer,
she thought but didn't say aloud.

--o0O SNIP 0Oo--

D'Altar flushed slightly. He was barely getting used to speaking to people
again and here he was drinking wine with the WarrenLady! Yet, he had been
alone for so long, so guarded, that he suddenly felt a wave of lonliness
take him. Perhaps he should take advantage of the moment.

"I am a warrior. Or at least, I should have been. My father had been the
commander of a large army and he blocked my entrance by calling in some
favours. He didn't believe I could love the arts and fight. I was
devistated. I packed my bags and left. I couldn't face saying goodbye to my
mother, so I left her a letter.  After that, I went as far from anywhere as
I could until I ended up in the Wild lands. I had many a close call and
almost died several times. I will carry the scars of that place, mentally
and physically, for the rest of my life."

"Then of course, I joined with Raven just as I was about to die. His mother
had brought me there as food for her hatchlings. I had some deep gashes in
my side from her claws and I lost a lot of blood. It all seemed to fade away
as my mind met his. I will never have the words to express how I felt and I
have not even tried to commit it to song. Nothing I could do would capture
that beauty."

He looked across at the WarrenLady. Perhaps it was the wine, but she was
staring at him intently.

"Before I met Raven, the lonliness had begun to set in. After years alone
being hunter and hunted every day, I grew weary of myself and desperate to
see another living soul. Even if Raven's mother had not captured me, I would
have died soon afterwards. Raven was my lifeline and we went on as I had for
a long time. As time went by, I realised that we needed more than each
other. We both needed the companionship of our own kind. I tried to recall
every story, every myth I had ever heard of dragons and their riders."

"Gradually, we began to get back to civilization. We started to pick up
news..."

"You found the scent?" Jayleigh smiled.

"Yes," he grinned (an expression Jayleigh never thought she'd see him use),
"we got closer and closer. I had intended to come back to the Warren in the
morning after scouting it out. I just couldn't help myself, though. Once I
knew where we were, I had to come down. I just had to..."

Was Jayleigh wrong, or could she see a tear in his eye? Whatever it was, the
moment passed.

"You must have had a difficult time," she said, touching his arm.

"We fought for our lives every day. Many people do, though. It made us what
we are."

By the Gods, she was beautiful! She linked her arm into his and he felt his
whole body electrify. She offered him a refill, which he accepted. Wine
never seemed to affect him.

"What about you, War, excuse me, Jayleigh? It must be difficult running the
Warren."

"Yes, but not as difficult as my personal life."

"You have two children, don't you?"

"Yes, a boy of fifteen and a baby girl. I love them both very much. Do you
like kids?"

"Oh yes, very much." He paused. "But I couldn't eat a WHOLE one!"

Jayleigh laughed so hard, her stomach began to hurt. Gods, she needed to
laugh.

"You are a wicked man!" she said, nudging him. She was still chuckling as
she looked into his eyes. He really was handsome when he was smiling. His
whole face seemed to light up.

"Jayleigh, can I ask you a personal question?"

"You can ask what you like," she smiled, "but I only answer what *I* like."

"The man we rescued today, you and he are... together?"

"We were, but not for a long time. Another former partner has also returned
to the Warren recently, but he is not the same. I don't have anyone at the
moment."

They were still touching and D'Altar still felt as if he was standing under
a lightning strike. This woman... she was beautiful, intelligent and she
obviously cared passionately about the Warren and those she served. That
passion was what attracted him to her more than anything.

They sat there, sharing a few quiet moments. D'Altar was still struggling
to believe that he was there. It was beginning to get quite late and he
began to realise that he needed to regain some self control.

<Tag! Barb: Does Jayleigh want to say anything else?>

"I think I'd better head back to my quarters," he said, rather
reluctantly.

"I suppose it is getting late," she replied.

"Thank you for the wine, Jayleigh. It is good to find out more about the
woman behind the WarrenLady," he smiled at her.

"Thanks D'Altar. It was good talking to you."

As D'Altar met up with Raven, the large (almost) black asked

*How was your evening with the WarrenLady?*

<Very nice, thank you. Jayleigh really is lovely..>

*_Jayleigh_ now, is it?* Raven smirked.

<She is a woman, not just a position,> he replied dryly.

*And what position would you like her to be in?* the dragon asked.

<Mmm,> D'Altar replied.

Raven left him to his thoughts. It was nice that he was feeling strongly
about someone, but Raven knew from the other dragons that humans could
be funny about what job someone had. 'Superiors,' they called it. He
knew that he respected the Queen, but if she were to rise for mating, he
would go after her.

Humans were rather strange creatures.

Respectfully submitted,

D'Altar and Raven
aka
Peter Shillan.
______________________________________________________
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