<snip>
"Look Gus.. right now it's important we do what we came here for... and if
they think that you have the Warrenlady's ear... then no one will dare treat
you bad... No one likes to get on the Warrens bad side believe me I know...
So just go with it and let them believe what they want for now. then see how
they act when word gets out and you come back here again with Loki."
<end snip>

Gus frowned at her friend, but held her tongue.  The kid had a point.  Sheâd 
noticed, walking across town, how people had looked at her.  Definitely an 
improvement on before - like she actually was somebody now.  That crone at 
the door, sheâd been impressed when told that Gus was a rider now.  Before 
that, sheâd looked ....  Odd, sheâd looked almost as though sheâd recognized 
Gus.  That made no sense, though.  Gus sure wasnât stupid enough to mess with 
this end of town.  Gus shrugged it off as Lord Jasper entered the room.  She 
took a deep breath and resolved to be on her best behaviour - regardless of 
how wimpy it felt.  Jasper was a good man - for a Lord.  Hell, sheâd had his 
handouts herself a time or two - and she wasnât alone.  Besides, it was worth 
it to see Ojean swallow his surprise.

****
Gus breathed deeply, trying to calm down as she led Ojean across town to the 
docks.  Grouty was a worm and always would be, but it didnât matter as long 
as they could convince his captains to disobey his orders.  IF they could.  
She spared half a glance over her shoulder at Ojean, who looked worried.  
Probably still upset over her outburst.  Dammit, she really had to learn to 
keep her big mouth shut.  If Grouty did go to Tara with a complaint, it would 
be Ojean who got in trouble for her mistake.  

Great, just great, she told herself.  You were supposed to be a help and 
instead you smart off to old Fish-face.  The kid would probably stand a 
better chance with the captains without him - though heâd get in trouble down 
on the docks alone.  Problem was, they knew her down there, knew what she was.

*******
Gus raced along the docks with Ojean, passing along Captain Chessmanâs 
message.  As Gus had feared, many of the sailors were more than a little 
leery of trusting her words.  While Ojean was watching, Gus held her tongue 
as best she could, merely reminding them of her new status.  When he turned 
to handle the other side of the pier, she was a bit more forceful.  
....

ãOk, Ojee, that covers this row of ships.  The other piers aint Groutyâs - 
theyâre all inside.  What now?ä  Ojean stood still on the pier, his eyes 
unfocussed.  ãHey! Are you all right?ä  There was still no response.  ãHEY 
KID!!!! Whatâs up?ä  Ojean still gave no response, but his body went still 
with a sudden tension.

<Snip>
"What's wrong now?" Gus grabbed his arm when he hadn't responded to the boys
first three questions.

"Wraiths...Tee just told me that there are Wraiths attacking a ship at sea
and some of them are heading this way! We have to warn everyone to get
inside the meeting hall!"
<end snip>

Ojean turned and raced down the docks, calling out his warning.  Gus followed 
him, her heart in her throat as she glanced out to sea, looking for the 
tell-tale wisps of grey.  Wraiths?  With the dragons of the warren fighting 
them at sea?  Who would be left to fight over the town? She pounded down the 
boards, fear whispering in her ear.

Chessman wasnât willing to believe at first, but while Ojean talked, Gus 
stared out to sea and spotted what she least hoped to find.  A greyish mass 
floating above the waves and headed inland. She nudged Ojean slightly as 
Teewith landed near the hall.  This time Captain Chessman needed nor further 
convincing.  He shouted orders as people dropped their tasks and began racing 
toward the meeting hall.  Instead of going inside with the others though, 
Ojean headed straight for his dragon and began to mount up.

ãWhere you going?ä 

"I've got to try and give these people some more time to get inside!" he
shouted above the wind. 

"You don't mean..? Man you're crazy! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

Ojean shrugged off the hand holding him and turned to face his friend. "I
have to try! Don't you see! It might be the only chance we have right now!"

"By getting yourself killed! No way."

"I have too.." "Tee said others are coming to help," he lied smoothly. "So I 
won't be out
there that long... you just make sure everyone gets inside and make sure
they have someone by the doors and windows with torches. Fire kills these
things..."

"No way!! If there are others coming then you can just wait with the rest of
us here!" Gus grabbed again for the boys arm, but Ojean was ready for him
this time. He leaned back against Teewith and then dropped his body weight
down and swept out with his leg, knocking Gus off his feet. Then before the
boy could recover, he was on Tee's back and had given the beast the order to
lift.

"You're right!" he shouted downwards as they lifted up. "It is all in the 
feet!"

Gus scrambled quickly to her feet, watching the dragon lift off.  Damn, nice 
move to use her trick against her like that, but tricks werenât going to help 
against wraiths and all his guts werenât going to amount to anything either.  
Unbidden, the words of an old sailorâs prayer rose into her mind.

ãLady of the waves, gods of the deep - watch over my friend and keep him from 
harm until you bring him safely home to port.ä 

Swallowing hard, she entertained herself with imagining just what Shawnee 
would do to her if she returned without Ojean.  When the dragon was no more 
than a speck in the sky she turned and headed into the meeting hall.

ãMake sure there are torches ready at all the doors and windows.ä

ãHow about pitch?ä

Gus turned to look at the sailor who asked.  ãWe aint trying to burn 
ourselves.ä

He chuckled and shook his head.  ãNah, we got sticks with it on one end - if 
we used those for torches...ä

She nodded, why not? Another sailor in a corner was fumbling desperately with 
something.  She headed over to take a look - it beat pacing in front of the 
door.  Surely that help would arrive before Ojean got into trouble?  She 
looked over the sailorâs shoulder.  He had a chest on  the floor in front of 
him - with a rusty old padlock.  

ãWhatâs up?ä

He glared suspisciously at her.  ãGot a ward against wraiths in here - hedge 
witch made for me.  Aint had to use it in years....ä  Despite his suspicions 
of her, he was nearly pleading for help in his terror.  ãWhen they comes 
through the walls, I gotta be ready,ä he whimpered.

ãCome through the - ?ä  Of all the idiotic -! Gus looked around and deftly 
filched a long, pointed dagger of the sailor behind her.  She kicked off one 
shoe and toed it into the air, catching it in the other hand.  She placed the 
end of the dagger against one of the hinge bolts on the back of the chest and 
rapped hard with the heel of her shoe - and then repeated the move on the 
other hinge.  Both bolts clattered to the floor and she peeled the chest 
open.  With a grin she tossed the dagger back to its owner - now watching her 
through narrowed eyes and slipped her shoe back on.  On the verge of a sharp 
retort she noticed a couple of beefy sailors opening the doors and heading 
out into the storm.  What the hell?

She followed to see them pulling Ojean and Teewith inside.  Though he had to 
scrunch over a bit, the dragon was small enough to fit inside.  And both were 
clearly unharmed.

"You stupid dumb kid! You'd better be glad you're alive or I would have
killed you for doing something so mind dead stupid!!"

"I'm glad to see you too Gus," Ojean smiled, as they moved inside the
building and out of the worse of the storms winds. 

"Glad hell! I'm just relieved I don't have to be the one to tell Tara and
your sister that you went and got yourself killed!!"

"Gus you'll never guess who those dragons are?"

"What now you want me to play guessing games?" he placed his hand up on
Ojean's forehead to make sue he wasn't running a temp... But Ojean knocked
it away. 

"It's him!! Loki's father!!"

Lokiâs father?  Gus glanced up at the sky to see a large, dark dragon soaring 
up into the air before the doors shut.  Wilders fought wraiths?  She 
shrugged.  Well, at least HIS father was worth something.  She found a seat 
on a pile of crates and sat back to wait out the storm.  The blow would be 
here soon, it sounded like.  Hurricanes were a fact of life, living in a port 
and she had seen her share, but something about this one felt .....  She 
struggled to find a word - just more of a hurricane.  Bigger, meaner - like 
this one was more than weather, was a force out to get them.  

She shook her head.  Last thing she needed was to fall prey to 
storm-sickness.  No matter how big or bad the blow - it was still only wind 
and rain, nothing more.  She stretched out and put her feet up.  There was no 
way they could fly back to the warren in this - and if Ojean was about to try 
something stupid again, she was ready for him this time.  She chuckled softly.

ãWhats so funny?ä

ãPretty good, you using my moves against me.ä  She grinned.  ãMaybe thereâs 
hope for you after all.ä

Ojean grinned and nodded.  ãI told you I could fight.ä

Gus chuckled again and leaned back against the wall.  The wind outside was 
picking things up and blowing them around.  When the rain started, it would 
become a symphony of thuds and patters.  Gus relaxed, listening to the 
familiar noises. Thud, whoosh, crack, thud....waaahh.  She sat up.  Waaahh?  
She stilled, listening intently and heard it again.  A cry?
What was that?"

"What was what?" Ojean turned to look at Gus.

"I thought I heard someone cry out -  There.. I heard it again."

"It's probably just the wind kid," a seaman said and waved him to sit back
down. "Wind sounds that way sometimes when it blows."

"It wasn't the wind," Gus insisted. "Someone's still out there, and I'm
gonna go take a look."

She had the doors opened and was scanning the streets before anyone else 
could move.  As if she couldnât tell the wind from a cry!  What a maroon! 
What she wasnât sure was whether it was human or one of the cats around.  
Then her eyes spotted the bit of yellow half-under the crates, where no 
yellow should be, and the tiny leg extending outward.  Gus was moving before 
even she realized it.  She was not going to stand by and see yet one more 
child killed outside in a blow like this.  Not one more.

The wind was nearly bad enough to knock her off her feet, but she knew the 
trick of hunkering down and slipping underneath it.  At least it hadnât 
started really raining yet.  Those crates were going to be hard enough to 
move without having to worry about hands slipping. She reached the crates and 
tried to lift without success.  Hmm, a lot heavier than I thought.  Bending 
her knees she got her shoulder against a crate and heaved.  It moved, but 
only slightly.  She was just looking around for something to smash the crates 
out of her way with when two sailors showed up next to her.

ãYouâll never shift those, lad.  Weâll lift them up high enough and you crawl 
in and get the kid.ä

Gus nodded. They lifted the crates and she dropped to her knees to slide 
underneath them.  Unfortunately, she wasnât quite as small as she hoped and 
took a few inches of skin off her back getting under.  The leg belonged to a 
small girl, not more than three years old.  She lay whimpering on the ground, 
her dress caught under the corner of a crate.  Gus reached out to pull the 
dress free and the little girl shrieked in surprise.

ãShh, little one, donât cry.  My name is Gus.  What yours?ä

ãD-D-Delia,ä she stammered.  

ãOh, thats a pretty name.  Whats say we get outta here, eh?ä

Gus reached out and ripped the corner off the dress as Delia wrapped her arms 
around her neck.  She crawled out to the hole made by the lifted crates.  In 
the intervening time, they had lifted the crates a bit higher and Gus was 
able to squeeze through with Delia in her arms.  Which was good, because Gus 
doubted she was gonna let go right now.  The wind blew her back when she 
stood up and the sailors grabbed her arms and began racing back to the 
meeting hall.  For once glad of the touch, Gus continued to murmur comforting 
words, though she doubted Delia could hear them - and was no longer sure 
whether she was comforting the child or herself.

They were less than 20 feet from the meeting hall when Gus caught a tell-tale 
glimpse of grey out of the corner of her eye.  Her heart stopped and she 
tensed her muscles to dive for the hall when a shadow passed over head, 
followed immediately be a rush of heat down her back.  She glanced up to see 
the dark dragon Ojean had identified as Lokiâs father.  She sent out a mental 
ãthank youä and let the sailors practically throw her into the hall.

Gus dropped onto the nearest bunch of crates, breathing hard.  Delia was 
still clinging to her, whimpering.

ãShh, no more tears.  Youâre safe now, no need to cry.ä

Gus rocked her gently, aware all the time of the eyes on them.  Dammit, did 
the child have a mother here?  She looked like a fool, rocking this child!  
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ojean watching, a big grin on his 
face.  Sheâd have to make sure he knew better than to say anything around the 
warren - she didnât need folks thinking sheâd gone soft.

ãDELIA!ä

A booming shout, several heavy footsteps and Captain Chessman was on his 
knees in front of Gus, reaching for the child.  

ãGrandfa?ä

Grandfa? Gus looked up at the seafarer, surprised to see tears standing in 
his eyes.  He gently pried the girl from Gusâs arms and rose to his feet.  
Gus looked up warily.

ãThank you,ä he said simply.

ãGrandfa, Gus saved me.ä

The sea captain smiled at her and then, eerily at Gus.  ãThat he did.  Heâs a 
dragonrider.ä

The approach of a sobbing woman who could only be Deliaâs mother saved Gus 
from having to respond to that.  Hell, he was treating her as if 
he...respected her?  Gus grinned.  The more fool he.

ãYouâre a hero,ä Ojean commented, grinning like a madman.

Gus barked a laugh - along with several nearby sailors.  She turned to gaze 
calmly at them and one decided he had other business on the other side of the 
hall.

ãThe streetrat? A hero?ä  Gus turned her icey gaze on the sailor and he held 
up his hands. ãNo offense, Gus, but ...ä

Gus made a face at him and he walked away, chuckling.  She turned her gaze on 
Ojean.  He was still grinning, damn him!  She leveled a finger at him.

ãDonât even think about saying nothing.ä

Ojean laughed.  ãWhatâs the matter?  Your reputation canât handle being a 
hero?ä

ãYou want me to tell Shawnee about flying after the wraiths by yourself?ä

Ojean paled a little. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Gus.  He shrugged and 
leaned against the wall.  Gus sank onto a crate and leaned back, closing her 
eyes.  She was startled from a half-doze by a small hand on her knee.

ãGus? Will you come play with me?ä

Delia looked up at her with adoration shining in her eyes.  Gus quickly bit 
back on a smile as she heard muffled snickering.  ãNot now, sweetlinâ.  Iâm 
tired.ä  WIth a flourish, she produced a coin from the childâs ear.  ãHere, 
tell your ma I gave you that for candy - after the storm.ä  Delia squealed 
with delight and raced back to her nervous parents.  Gus chuckled inwardly.  
She bet the last thing they wanted was their daughter admiring the streetrat.

ãSweetling?ä

Gus glared at Ojean who was grinning along with the nearest sailors.  One of 
the sailors grinned broadly at Gus.

ãGus has a new friend,ä he chortled.  

ãFriend?ä One of the sailors barked with laughter.  ãGus has no friends.  Try 
and tell me the streetrat cares for anything but his own hide. Gonna ask the 
captain for a reward now, little hero?ä  The sailor sneered at Gus.  Without 
standing, Gus kicked out from her seat, catching the sailor where he least 
wanted to be hit.

Gus smiled ferally at the downed sailor.  ãOops.ä

He snarled and started to rise when his friends hauled him back.  ãStart a 
fight in here, Skully and the captain will have your head.ä  They moved well 
away, leaving Gus alone in her corner - well, almost alone.

ãYâknow, Gus - ã

ãShut up, brat, and let me sleep.ä

ãBrat?ä

Gus looked up at Ojean, who was standing in apparent anger.  ãThats what I 
said.ä

ãStand up and say that, streetrat.ä

Gus rose to her feet and glowered at Ojean.  ãBrat.ä  She punctuated her 
words with a shove.  Ojean shoved back.

ãStreetrat.ä

ãRunt.ä

ãThief.ä

ãJellyfish.ä

ãJellyfish?ä  Ojean doubled over laughing and Gus joined in.  She grinned at 
her new friend.  

A resounding whoosh was followed by several thuds and the sound of water 
being hurled against all sides of the meeting hall.  Their laughter stopped 
and Gus and Ojean looked at each other.  The hurricane had arrived.

__________________________________________________________________
Katrina

Enjoy all!