First Taste Of Battle

Loud angry roars filled the skies above their heads as Ghost and Mc'key were
making their way across the bowl to meet up with Jil'mae and Karine in the
dining hall. 

At first the sound froze them in place, but only for a second and then Ghost
turned, a second later, to run after Key as he started hell for leather back
across green to where they had left Vas and Kikeane cuddling only a minute
before.

A cloud of flame filled the air above them and they both heard, then witness
it, as the rider of one of the watchdragons plummeted to his death. The
charred remains of his dragon tumbling over the tower walls a split second
latter. Finally coming to rest with a loud audible thud against the hard earth. 

Ghost heard the call in her mind for all riders to get into the air, and
doubled her efforts to get to her dragon. But it was to late!!

She heard the sounds of dragon anger as more of the unknown dragon's
teleported into the air and swooped towards the hatching cave, only to
reappear seconds later and then disappear before any of the Warren Dragon's
could stop them.

She froze. Her mind unable to deal with the picture her mind was flashing
her. An egg... one of rogue dragon's had been carrying what looked like an
egg....

'Oh Gods NO!!!' her mind screamed silently as her feet once again began to
move and she reached Kiki's side. Mounted. Then received an order past on by
way of Vas to go check out the hatching caves and try to find out what had
happened. 

She knew Key was trying to keep her out of the fighting going on around
them... wanting to protect her, but as one by one the rogues teleported
away, the danger had past.

Leaving only the after math of destruction and death behind in their wake.

<Vas's rider is calling the Wing out to try and go after them,> Kiki told
her as they landed just inside the hatching cave. 

She had Kiki circle down towards the cave entrance and felt the shock and
sadness pouring from her dragon to herself when they both spied the charred
remains of what less then five minutes ago, had been live breathing dragons.

The three never had a chance to defend themselves as the rogues swooped down
and started flaming them. 

Ghost dismounted and raced inside the cave, and nearly threw up when her
eyes caught sight of the burnt remains of a body inside. As it was she had
to reach out to grab onto the wall to keep herself from falling to her knees.

<Steady my rider.. I am here with you.> Kiki's comforting tone filled her
head, even though the dragon was feeling the effects of the lost of several
of her own.

<We came here for a reason... you're my rider. We are together. We must do
what we are here to do.>

The pinks thoughts were getting through to her. She was right. They had work
to do now. She had to keep herself together for now and see to her duties. 

Later when she was home, she could let her feelings go and grieve. But now
she had to pull herself together. 

She staggered onward into the inner recesses of the cave, past the second
unrecognizable body, and the sight that greeted her had her head spinning as
shock lashed through her.

A few broken egg shells laid scattered around as if a giant hand had thrust
them aside, but the sight that devastated her the most was the empty space
where an hour earlier, the metallic Queen egg had been so proudly displayed.

Of Melith and Phaedra there was no sign.

That thought sobered her up quicker than anything else could have.

<<KIKI WHERE'S MELITH!!!>>

..................

<The young Queen is here> Kiki told her rider after passing on to Vas and
the others what they had found in the hatching cave. <She comes with others
who will help protect what is left of out eggs.>

Ghost ran out to meet her, not wanting the girl to see what was inside
without some warning first. It had been bad enough that she had had to see it. 

<<Have you alerted the medical dragon that we need their help here?>>

"Is it true?" Argent asked when she arrived and found Ghost waiting for her. 

For a second the smaller girl could only nod her head. 

"Where's Phaedra? Why isn't Melith here with her eggs?" the junior
Queenrider wanted to know. 

"I don't know," Ghost told her finding her voice at last.. "No one knows
where they are right now, but Key has the Wing out looking for them right
now .. I'm sure..."

No more then five minutes had passes between the first dragon cries and
their meeting in the cave, when they all heard the loud angry cries from
Melith as the Queen teleported back into the skies above the Warren and made
her way to her eggs. 

Several dragons and their humans had to duck quickly to get out of her way
when she finally landed and half walked, half flew inside to where she had
left her eggs.

Ghost knew she wouldn't soon forget the sounds of Queens sorrowful cries
when the destruction of her eggs had been discovered... and the small
metallic egg gone from it's resting place. Nor would she forget the way the
lone tree left standing near the caves entrance suddenly went up in flames
as Phaedra.. not having any of the rogues at hand to vent her anger on, sent
the tree to burning until nothing was left but ashes to blow away in the wind.  

She didn't know what to do... part of her wanted to run and hide from the
things she'd witness on this day. But the other half... the half that had
chosen to remain here in the Warren and accept all the things that came with
being a dragonrider.

She saw Argent looking at her. A pleading glance asking what they should do
to help. But things were taken out of her hands when Mc'key and  H'nin both
showed up and went to her. 

Ghost waved the girl out of the cave.

"They'll know what to do.. if anything can be done right now," she said
sadly and looked back the way they had come. "I think right now, it would be
better for us to try and find some people and start getting this places
cleaned up."

"I think you're right," Argent too was looking back the way they had come.
Her face showed her grief as she began the steps that would begin her first
official duty in Geode. 

....................

She was tired and covered in soot when Mc'key finally caught up to her
later. She'd been working side by side with Karine and the others helping to
remove the evidence of the attack from the lands around them, but knew
nothing would ever be able to remove the pictures from her mind.

"Are you ready to go on home?" Key asked when he saw her. 

"Will you tell me what happened after Argent and I left?" she asked falling
into step beside him as they headed towards their dragons. 

"We went back out looking... hell we looked every where but could find
nothing telling us who they were or where they went," his voice was filled
with his anger. "Who ever they are... they took the new queen egg and Melith
is beside herself. Phaedra's not much better."

Ghost remembered the burning tree. 

"No.. I can imagine she's not. Key?" she turned to look at him. "Should I go
to her? She shouldn't be alone right now. Not that I really think I could
help her... but... I don't like thinking of her being by herself."

"She's not," he assured her and helped her to mount Kikeane when they
arrived. "H'nin stayed behind when I left. They both told me to come find
you to make sure you were all right."

"Sounds like something they would do."

"Ghost?" his hand was on her leg as he looked up at her from where he still
stood beside her dragon. Blue eyes full of concern and worry for her.

"I'm okay Key. I'm a dragonrider now.. so I have to get used to things like
this."

"One never gets used to things like this love," he told her. "One only
learns to deal with it and to treasure the life we do have even more because
we know there are no promises that tomorrow will come."


"Let's go home Key... I don't want to have to look at this any more for
right now."

She watched as he nodded his head then turned and headed towards Vas.
Together they lift off and headed home.

Tomorrow would come around soon enough.

****Submitted by: *****

Ghost & Kikeane
Geode Warren

aka
Barbara