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DAY 1 - Sometime around noon

<Starfire>

	Starfire lay on the ledge in front of his rider's apartment,
dozing slightly. He was alone for once. That would seem surprising for
some since he was usually in the company of Regenta and Thornguard, as
had been the case almost since the day they all hatched. But something
had occurred that morning that had prompted Star to spend some time
thinking by himself, as he tended to do when he had to work something
out.

	It was strange how sometimes humans spoke on two levels, what
they said and what they really meant. This occasionally happened with
dragons, but most were pretty straightforward with what they thought of
someone or something. Star wasn't entirely sure if Reggie knew what she
had been talking about, but the comment she had made had been enough to
hurt Star. He knew she liked to tease him; she did it constantly, but
there were times when he tended to take her jibes seriously.

	A quiet, thoughtful dragon, Starfire tended to shy away from the
physical encounters some of the other dragons liked to participate in,
instead preferring to lie quietly and think, or practice his flying
skills with his friends. He also 'felt' more than the others did. Star
wasn't sure what it meant, but when he was close to other dragons he
seemed to be able to sense what they were feeling. It was useful when
one of the others needed to be cheered up, or if a dragon was in a bad
mood he knew to stay away, but lately Reggie had seemed to pick up on it
and was using it against him, deliberately (he thought), as one of her
jokes. He had soon discovered he didn't like it very much. 

	He knew female dragons could get moody. Reggie did so frequently
in fact, along with some of the others in the warren. But sometimes he
wondered^�well, a dragon could only take so much teasing at the hands
(well, claws) of a female, even if she was his clutchmate, so he decided
to take her not-so-subtle hint and find somewhere else to lie. 

	Only really half asleep, he caught the sound of dragons arriving
at the warren and looked up so see the blue and the black shapes that
signaled that Raven and Chamelle had returned to the warren. Starfire
liked the sapphire dragon and not, as his rider had teased him that
morning, just because she had a similar coloring to himself. She was
funny and Starfire enjoyed flying with her, as he enjoyed all the wing
exercises. Up until lately she had been snuggling with Graimor, but Star
had spotted him over with Flerrion and Viktory, engaging in some
puzzling activities. Starfire didn't pretend to understand Flerrion and
secretly suspected most dragons at the warren didn't either.

	* Hello Star, * she said to him, alighting on the ledge after
dropping her rider off on the green. * What are you doing up there all
alone? * 

	* Thinking, * replied Starfire seriously, moving over so she had
room to lie down. She nudged him playfully.

	* You think too much sometimes Star, * she replied. * You need
to get out of here and have some fun. *

	* Fun? * Star recalled the last time Reggie, Fluffy and himself
had engaged in 'fun' and the trouble it had caused.

	* Yes, fun! * Chamelle related the incident down at the lake and
Star had to laugh.

	* Well, I suppose having fun might be a good idea, but it tends
to be more trouble than it's worth. * Chamelle snorted and snuggled up
close to the other dragon.

	* Well, later on I might show you what I mean. For now, I need
to sleep off this morning's wing practice. * 

	* Sounds good, * Star agreed, laying his head down beside hers.

[..]

>	The conversation around the table died when they all >got that
far away look in their eyes as their dragons >bespoke them. Sharees
listened for Chamelle, but her >dragon was fast asleep cuddled up next
to Starfire, who >suddenly pulled away.  Chamelle snorted in surprise,
>waking.

>	<My love, what is going on? >  Sharees asked Chamelle >as the
other riders at her table suddenly rose and looked >around in a confused
manner.

>	<*Oh, some female is rising to mate... somewhere. *>  Chamelle
grumped.

>	Sharees listened but didn't hear the tell-tale call >from a
challenging female.  <Where is she, then? >

>	<*Somewhere, not too far away.  At the lake I >think. *>
Chamelle answered.

	* They're over at the lake, * Starfire told both Chamelle and
his rider. * Brisha has risen and Amadith is with her. * There was a
trace of resentment in his thoughts, as with most of the other male
dragons in the warren who had been deprived of a chance to chase a
female.

	* So? *

	* So what? * Starfire replied to Chamelle, turning his head and
giving her a puzzled look.

	* So, are you going to go out and chase after her? * Starfire
lay still for a moment and cocked his head, as if listening to
something. Then he shrugged mentally.

	* Why? * He sighed. * Amadith has already caught her. * Starfire
settled down beside the other dragon once more. * There will be other
females I'm sure, some other time. * He gave Chamelle a sly sideways
glance that caused her to giggle.

	* Perhaps, * she conceded, nuzzling him affectionately. * You
never know. *

<Tag Arle. She gonna be nice to him or tease him some more? :)>

****

<Jason>

	* Star, can you feel that? It's almost as if... *

	* Brisha is rising to mate, * Starfire replied simply. * They're
over at the lake, * Brisha has risen and Amadith is with her. * 

	Starfire's blunt statement was ratified by the looks the male
riders had in their eyes. All of them were on their feet, wondering what
they should do. The hunger of their dragons to mate was there, but not
strong enough for them to go after the female dragon. She was to far
away and the flight was almost over.

	Out of the corner of his eye, Jason noticed Allora also on her
feet, a slightly wild look in her eyes. Jason had wondered how she would
react to a mating flight, giver that her dragon was male. But then again
she had never really worried over the sex of her bedfellows. 

	* You okay Star? *

	< Yes...why wouldn't I be? > His dragon's tone was one of
puzzlement.

	* Oh, nothing, just checking buddy. Whatcha doing? *

	< At the moment I'm snuggling with Chamelle. >

	* What happened to Regenta and Fluffy? I thought you guys were
never apart. *

	< I don't know where they are, > Starfire replied, his tone of
thought telling Jason that the sapphire dragon didn't really care where
the queen was at that time. 

	* Okay, bud, enjoy your rest. *

	Things began to slowly calm down in the dining room as the
riders realized that the mating fight was well over. A few were
grumbling about it, but most knew it was just unlucky that it had taken
place so far from the warren. 

	< Jason, come quick! >

	* What? * The urgency in his dragon's thought was startling. *
What's the matter? * 

	* Brisha and Amadith are in trouble! * An image flashed in
Jason's mind, one of two figures being attacked by^�

	* Wraiths! * Jason exclaimed. He jumped up from his seat.

	"What's up?" Sharees asked him.

	"No time to explain," Jason said hurriedly, making for the door,
"just run to your dragons. Star will give you the image." 

	The others at the table looked at him bemusedly for a moment,
then started running after him as their dragons informed them of what
Jason had meant.

	"Jason, don't you think we should..."

	"We don't have the time," Jason replied, watching his dragon
alight on the green, then climbing up a forelimb and onto Starfire's
back. "We'll send a warning to the wing, but we have to go now if Tair'n
and Norin want to live." Sharees nodded and turned to her own dragon,
Allora and D'Altar doing the same. 

	The group took quickly to the air, Starfire broadcasting the
image he had to every dragon in the warren, both alerting the wings and
giving his friends the destination.

	< Raven says not to rush in, > Starfire told his rider as they
prepared to 'port. < He says to stick together so we are more effective.
>

	* Won't argue with that, * Jason replied. * Let's go. *

	The four dragons 'ported out of warren space and reappeared near
the lake. The scene before them was immediately evident. A cloud of
wraiths, much smaller than Jason had judged from the image, were
clustered around the water as two people were trying to keep away from
them. From their cries of pain, he guessed they weren't doing to well.

	< Now! > Raven told the others, directing the small formation
down towards the water. The four dragons spouted flame, vaporizing most
of the wraiths on their first pass. A few stragglers continued harassing
those in the lake, but soon turned their attention to their attackers.
Their attention span didn't turn out to be very much, three were killed
on the next pass and one turned and fled, the dragons pursuing it for a
moment, then turning it to ashes.

	They landed swiftly and ran over, pulling Tair'n and Norin out
of the lake. Their bodies bore some physical scars from the attack, but
neither was seriously hurt.

	< Flerrion's rider is asking whether we need help. >

	* Tell him, * Jason replied with a sigh of relief, * that we
were able to clean out the wraiths without to much hassle and that
Tair'n and Norin are okay. We might need someone to ring them back,
however, since their dragons are still out of it. *

	< He says to be careful and make sure there are no more wraiths
about. He also said for Thornguard and his rider to take Brisha and
Amadith's riders back to the warren while we search the area. >

	"Allora, did you get that?" Jason asked her. She nodded in
agreement and Jason turned back to the others. "Well, I guess that
leaves us to sweep the area."

	"That was an awfully small group of wraiths," D'Altar observed
thoughtfully. "I would have expected them to attack in a much larger
group."

	"Don't criticize a good thing?" Sharees suggested. "More wraiths
and Tair'n and Norin might not have made it." She made a face. "And no,
I wouldn't wish that on Norin, no matter how much of a bitch she is."

	"I heard that," Norin's voice floated over from where she was
being helped on to Fluffy's back. Sharees shrugged and grinned.

	"Well, let's get going then," Jason suggested. The others nodded
and walked over to their dragons.

	"We did pretty good then," Sharees remarked. "All that training
was worth something after all." 

	"That is was," Jason replied, "although sometimes it was hard to
believe." He smiled at Sharees, then as she moved slightly he froze.

	"Jason, what's wrong?" She turned in the direction of his stare
and stifled a small scream.

	* Star, tell Flerrion and every other dragon at the warren to
get here ^right^ now! We have a very big problem! *

	Rising out of the nearby trees was another cloud of wraiths.
Only this time, there were a lot of them. A very large number of them.

<Tag all :)>

****

NRPG: Time for one of those multi-wing extravagant battles everyone
likes :)

Submitted by,

	Jason and Starfire

aka
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 __-' { |          \          'Listen to them - the children of the
     /              \	       night. What sweet music they make!'
     /       "o.  |o }            
     |            \ ;				-Dracula-
                   ',
        \_         __\
          ''-_    \.//		Michael Turek
            / '-____'		mdt02@uow.edu.au
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