Peren stood over the frail form of Wade, trying to push away the
uncertainty.  With a shake of his head, he stood up, and began pacing.
Details of the incident that had been so clear yersterday were begining to
fade.  It was  as if there was a mental haze that he couldn't see through.
I have to get out of here, he thought.  I need some time...


"Wade," he began, not certain what to say, "whatever happened when you saved
me is over...its done with.  I came so close to the blackness, so close to
dragging you with me, that I don't even *want* to remember it.  If I could
push away those thoughts, I would..."


He walked to her bedside, grabbing her hand he placed it upon his chest,
where the bolt had pierced him.  Through her tears, she smiled.  "Do you
feel that?" he asked, sitting beside her.  She could feel the steady rythym
of his heart beating, and his lungs drawing in and releasing air.  "That's
not death."  He paused, and brought her other hand up to his chest. "No,
that's life.  MY life...the life that you gave back to me.  "And I am not
going to waste that life by wondering what COULD have happened had you not
been there..."


She drew her hands back, "you would not have been in that situation, death
would not have tried to take you..."


"Stop it," he whispered, placing his index finger against her lips.  "Stop
blaming yourself.  Done is done.  You and I are both here, both safe."  He
looked away from her and glanced at the open window, "both home."
He stood up.  Walking toward the window, he spread his arms out wide,
drinking in the cool evening air.  He turned to her with a beautific smile.
"Don't you feel it?" he asked, rushing back to her bedside and grabbing her
hands again.


She could not resist a smile of her own.  "Feel what?  I feel a little
woozy, my head hurts a bit, and there is certainly a little pain where
you're squeezing my fingers too hard..."  He laughed then and let go of her
hands.


"Soon," he said pointing to her, jabbing the air with his finger.  "Soon you
are going to remember everything, and you are going to feel wonderful.  And
then all these thoughts of hopelessness will end.  You'll see."
Her smile faded, and a single tear rolled down her cheek.  "I hope so,
Peren... I certainly hope so."


He brushed away her tear, holding back his own.  "Count on it."  He stood,
and headed toward the door.  "I have to go now, Wade.  I need to do some
thinking.  I'll come back tomorrow and see how you're doing."  With one last
look, he turned and exited the cavern.  He could feel the wind biting his
neck.  The smell of the sea, so foreign and yet so wonderful, filled his
nostrils.


He strode to the little inlet that had been his refuge of late.  Passing the
rock that Lucky had nearly shattered with his frozen breath, he paused,
thinking of Sheava.  He could feel that all was well with his companion.
The link was not that strong between them tonight, and he could not talk to
her.  But he wasn't worried.  At times he could just barely feel her, other
times he thought that she was with him even when miles away.
Now, he thought, would be a good time to connect with the land around him.
He knew that this disconcerted Sheava, and he was most strongly connected to
the land when he was most weakly connected with her.


He sat breathing deeply, focusing his energy outward.  He began to see the
different scents and sounds around him, each being read as puffs of colored
smoke.  He thought about his near-death experience, and what Wade had said
to him.  Why couldn't he see it clearly anymore?  The Black had been so
cold, so hard, and yet so inviting...yet now he couldn't bring himself to
see it again.  It felt as if something was blocking him, something dark and
cold, but not nearly as desolate as the Black that drew him in before.  He
stopped trying to reach beyond that dark blocking force.  Instead, he turned
his attention upward.


It was so faint that he almost didn't recognize it... a trail of dark mist.
He couldn't tell if it was a vision, a scent or a sound.  It seemed to be
all three at the same time.  He tried to follow the trail backwards, but it
was so long that he couldn't see where it began.  As it closed over the
warren, it spread; fine tendrils splitting off and multiplying into every
corner.


He came out of trance then, abruptly shocked back to normal consciouness.
Something was not right.  He could see no trace of the misty trail.  The
wind had turned cold and bitter.  His hands were shaking.  He stood
shivering, staring at the cold stars, for what seemed an eternity.  Looking
for something he knew was there, but couldn't see...


>From a distance, he could hear Wade weeping softly into the night.
______________


Quietly, Sheava closed her eyes.  *Some things, dear companion, you were not
meant to know.*  She stared at the Black beneath her, she could feel Peren's
weight atop of her, not touching...but there.


The Black seemed to smile at her as if shrugging its shoulders and saying
"You can't protect him forever."  Just as Peren turned away from the danger,
she noticed the misty tendrils descending.  They bored holes into her body,
leaving her psyche in shreds.  She quickly retreated into her own body in
the dragon cavern.  Her eyes flashed, and she could feel her throat begin to
line with shards of crystal.  She hissed once, claws extending.


*Kin*
___________


Justin Plank
Peren and Sheava - Jasra Warren
Dr. Devon Ashke-Avron - USS Discovery






(end of original message)
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