Ansel
(Day 6, late afternoon; dining hall)

     It had been a long hard day, filling sandbags on the beach and carting 
them up to the warren.  He'd had to work all his life - his parents had seen 
to that - but never this sort of tiring, backbreaking labor. It was hard for 
him to believe that any storm could possibly do the sort of damage that 
everyone here seemed to fear, but then again, his home village was well 
inland and he had no idea what sort of weather might come in off the wide sea 
that lay beyond the warren.  

     After filling his tray, he began to look for a seat.  It was then that 
he spotted Danis, who it appeared had just sat down herself.  He made his way 
over to her table.  "You look tired, having a dragon must be a lot of work," 
he said.  "Mind if I join you?"

     She looked up, and smiled.  "Of course!" she said.  "So you are on break 
now too?"

     "Yes," he said, and noted that she looked as tired as he himself felt.  
"I hate to say it, but I hope this storm is a bad one - if not, I'll feel as 
though we've wasted all this work."

     "I'm afraid it may be," Danis told him.  "I came from an island, and 
remember such a storm from long ago.  If this one is as bad, then I don't 
think that anything we do to prepare for it can be too much."

     "How is your new dragon?" he asked as they ate.

     "Thalia is wonderful," she said, her eyes taking on a faraway look.  "I 
had never seen a dragon before coming here, only heard of them.  Oh, Ansel, 
you just can't imagine..."  She stopped, and a look of embarrassment crossed 
her face.

     "Don't be sorry," he said, realizing the problem.  "There were only five 
eggs, and so many more candidates, so there were a lot more people who failed 
to join than the number who did.  If the gods will it, then...well, maybe my 
time will come."

     "I hope so," she told him earnestly.  "Maybe you'll even join with a 
queen!"

     "Maybe," he agreed.  He'd never even thought of aspiring so high.  But 
who knew what the future could hold in store?

     When they'd finished, they cleared the table and left the dining hall.  
"I suppose we'd better get back to it," he said ruefully, rubbing his aching 
back.  "We've done a lot today, but there's a lot yet to do."

     Danis nodded.  "It's fortunate, though, that you seem to be able to tell 
at a glance which of the canvas bags are still strong enough to hold, and 
which ones aren't.  Your sister came by earlier, and thought that the whole 
storage room-full were okay."

    Despite his fatigue, Ansel chuckled.  "Don't spread this around, but my 
sister really isn't that sharp when it comes to weaving.  She never had very 
much interest in it when she lived with us at..."  He'd been about to say "at 
home," but couldn't.  That place would never be home again, not after his 
family had allowed the other villagers to try and stone him to death.  "...at 
the village." he finished.

     "Then it is lucky that she became a dragon-rider," said Danis, still 
saying the word with a degree of hesitation.

     "Maybe she knew that she was destined to be something else," he agreed.  
He hoped that the same destiny might await him.  He could already speak to 
the great dragons, so it seemed as though he were already halfway there.  

     Danis wanted to check on Thalia before returning to the job, so Ansel 
went with her.  They found the little queen - who was already bigger than he 
remembered from the last time he'd seen her - with the other newly hatched 
dragons.  Jerram was there as well, having gotten the young dragons up high 
in the warren where they'd be safer when the storm hit.

     *Good evening, Thalia,* he told her.  *You look lovely tonight.*  He was 
still not entirely clear on what the difference was between a queen and any 
other dragon, aside from the fact that they were always female and seemed to 
be bigger and shinier than the other dragons.  Tara had never been able to 
tell him much about Varaenna on her visits, because it would always set their 
father off on one of his tirades about "that beast."  Maybe it was just that 
queens were smarter...at least he assumed they were, because Varaenna had 
told him so.  They were certainly treated as though they were more important 
than other dragons, so he figured he'd better show Thalia the proper respect.

     [Hmph, how can I look lovely when I'm half-starved?] she complained.  [I 
hardly ever get fed, you know!]

     Danis' eyes widened.  "I can't believe this!" she told him.  "How can 
she be hungry again?  She's eaten enough today to make a whale sick!"

     "Because these young ones grow tremendously fast," said Jerram, who was 
passing by and had overheard her comment.  "In a week's time, your Thalia 
might be as large as Varaenna, or even larger."

     "That quickly?" Danis asked, alarmed.  "She'll eat the entire warren at 
this rate!"

     "Don't worry, we go through this all the time," Jerram assured her.  
"But if she's hungry, you'd better feed her."

     Thalia leaned forward and butted Ansel imperiously.  [Well?] she 
demanded.  [Are you just going to stand there, or get me some food?]

     Ansel chuckled.  "I think she's decided I'm some sort of servant," he 
told them.  "I guess I'd better humor her."

    He went over and retrieved a bucket of meat and brought it back.  *Here 
you are, Your Highness,* he told her.

     Jerram grinned as he watched them.  "You're very good with her," he 
remarked, and Danis nodded agreement.

     "This is good practice," Ansel said.  "Who knows, perhaps I'll join with 
a queen myself someday."

     Danis nodded.  "Tara briefly explained to me the qualities that make for 
a good queenrider, and I'm sure that Ansel has all of them!"

     Neither knew why Jerram found that so funny, and he decided to make 
himself scarce before being called upon to explain it to them.

     "I need to rest a few minutes before we go back to work," Ansel told her.

     "Me too," said Danis, sitting down next to him.  Thalia, deciding that 
it wasn't right that she was no longer the center of attention, quickly 
butted herself in between them and sat there with a smug look on her face.  
Danis and Ansel looked at each other across her, and broke out laughing.
     
(Tag Louise)

Tara
(evening, during the wraith battle)

     [Thoseth's rider has been hurt!] Varaenna cried, and Tara quickly raised 
the telescope to her eye.  Sure enough, the dark blue dragon was winging in 
back toward the warren.  She thought she could see Lisell slumped over in the 
saddle, but couldn't be sure.]

     "Damn!" she swore to herself.  *Varaenna, tell Seydor that I need his 
rider to take charge of things, and quickly!*  Jerram always protested that 
he didn't want a wing command, but he'd certainly done well enough on short 
notice at the Geode battle.

     [Seydor says that he and his rider cannot,] the queen reported.  [They 
are in the middle of a fight, just above the water.  He says that they can't 
see what is going on with the other dragons, and recommends that you have 
someone else lead the wing for now.]

     Tara chewed her lip, peering through the telescope again.  She could 
make out the teal-colored dragon soaring upward, having just dispatched a 
wraith whose burning remains were fluttering down toward the water.  *Tell 
Doshayne that her rider just got elected to lead the wing!* she told the 
queen.

     [Good idea!] Varaenna agreed.  [Doshy seemed quite willing earlier, when 
she volunteered to lead one of the flights.]

     Tara nodded, and went back to following the battle through her 
telescope.  "Bertram, is this storm likely to abate anytime soon?"

     "Not a hope of it," the weatherwatcher said grimly.  "It'll blow through 
most of the night, is my guess.  When the eye of the storm reaches us, it'll 
be calm for awhile, but then we'll get the other side of the storm.  That 
could be even worse than what we're seeing now."

     Through the telescope, she could see the mad, swirling battle taking 
place over the ships.  The dragons seemed more maneuverable in the tremendous 
winds, probably because of their greater weight.  The wraiths were being 
blown around like leaves, but had an advantage in that if they made physical 
contact with a dragon, it was the dragon who'd come off being injured by the 
collision.  Finally, she saw that the dragons were beginning to lose their 
flame.  Soon they'd have to return.

     [Doshy is telling the other dragons to set fire to the ships!] Varaenna 
said excitedly.

     Tara was horrified.  *No* she cried.  *The people on those ships..!*

     [She says they're either in the water already, or jumping off the ships 
now,] Varaenna told her.

    Tara watched the ships go up in flames, creating a wall of fire that took 
the wraiths by surprise and consumed them like moths in a candle flame.  
Shawnee's plan had worked, but if they couldn't save the people in the water, 
the battle was all for nothing.

     [The dragons are trying to help them, but it's difficult for them to see 
humans in the water, because it is so rough and the winds are so strong, not 
to mention the darkness,] Varaenna told her.

(morning, Day 7)

"Poor dear," Shawnee chuckled as they watched him walk away.
 
"Poor dear my... " Tara grinned but didn't complete the sentence. "He'll get
over it I hope. But It's you I want to talk to at the moment."

"Me?" Shawnee asked in surprise.

"Yes, about what happened yesterday during the fight." Tara told her, and
Shawnee couldn't read anything in her expression. "Why don't we go inside
and find a dry spot while we talk."

Shawnee too stunned to do anything else, followed behind her and wondered
what she had done to warrant this talk.

     Once they were in a reasonably dry and private place, Tara turned to 
Shawnee.  "I wanted to talk to you about last night," she said.

     Shawnee sighed.  "That's what I figured," she said.  "Look, I'm sorry 
about the ships!  I did what I thought I had to do!"

     "Yes, I know..." Tara began.

     "I probably should have asked you first, I realize that now," Shawnee 
went on.  "But the dragons couldn't stay out there any longer, and I didn't 
want those wraiths  coming in over the warren while we were on the ground!"

     "Actually, I..." Tara tried to say.

     "And I guess we should have looked harder for survivors," Shawnee told 
her.  "Ed'wen has already made that very clear to me this morning."

     "Shawnee!" cried Tara, finally realizing that this was the only way she 
was going to get a word in edgewise.

     Shawnee stopped.  'Yes?" she asked.

     "Look, I don't know what Ed'wen or anyone else has said to you about 
last night," said Tara.  "If he has a problem, then he should come to me.  My 
reason in calling you here was...well, simply to tell you that I thought you 
did an outstanding job last night."

     Shawnee blinked in surprise.  "You did?" she asked.

     Tara nodded.  "Yes," she said.  "I have never seen, or even heard of a 
battle being fought under the horrific conditions that you and the others 
faced last night.  It was a long-shot mission, I knew that when I sent the 
wing out.  If anyone is responsible for those ships, or for our wounded 
riders and dragons, it's me."

     Once again, it's me, she thought privately, thinking back to Geode, and 
about Piper.

     "But you did all that anyone could have," Tara told her.  "You destroyed 
the wraiths, and that was the first priority.  Had it not been for what you 
and the other riders did out there, not a person on any of those ships would 
have survived.  Further, you were asked to take over the leadership of the 
wing with no advance warning, and still managed to carry it off.  I think you 
did a fine job, and so do a lot of others."

     Shawnee looked surprised.  "Well, I...thank you," she said.

     "And I wanted to ask you to do me a favor," Tara went on.

     "Of course," Shawnee told her.  "What is it?"

     "Take over the wing on a more permanent basis."

     Shawnee's eyes bulged.  "Me??" she asked, clearly shocked at the idea.

     "Well, who better?" Tara asked.  "You were there when I needed you, and 
that's what makes a good Wingleader, when all's said and done."

     Shawnee was silent a moment, clearly not knowing what to say.

     "If it'll make you feel any better, remember that I'm not really the 
Warrenlady here, and any appointments I make may not be valid after I'm gone. 
 For that matter, Jasra's wing may be broken up and split between the other 
warrens a few days from now for all we know.  But in the meantime, would you 
consider it?"

     Privately, she hoped that the assignment, should Shawnee decide to 
accept it, would be of a more permanent nature, but chose not to mention that 
right now.

(Tag Barb)

(med center, a short time later)

     "How is she?" Tara asked, looking down at the strange-looking girl who 
lay in the bed.

     "Well, she'll live," said Balagon.  "But as I told Shawnee and the 
others earlier, I had to sedate her.  She was pretty overwrought, and I 
didn't want her running out of here before I'm ready to release her."

     Tara then took a long look at what was lying on a blanket next to the 
bed, and scowled.  "Balagon, what is...that?"

     The healer shrugged.  "Beats me, Tara.  I've never seen anything like it 
in these parts.  Obviously you haven't either."

     Tara shook her head.  "Well, what's it doing here?"

     "Seemed like the best thing to do," he said, though his tone of voice 
told her that even he wasn't sure.  "When we tried to separate it from her, 
it put up a terrible ruckus, so we decided to leave it here with her.  Must 
be a pet or something.  Ed'wen pulled them both out of the water together."

     Tara stared at the multilegged lizard suspiciously.  The thing had a 
positively nasty look about it, like it might bite anyone who came too close 
to it.  She decided not to give it the opportunity, and made sure that she 
was standing on the opposite side of the bed from where it lay.

     As she bent over, the girl's eyes suddenly fluttered open.  She gazed up 
at Tara with a bewildered look on her face, and mumbled some words that Tara 
didn't understand.

    "It's okay, take it easy," said the queenrider, laying a hand on the 
girl's shoulder.  "I'm Tara, and you're safe in Jasra Warren.  What's your 
name?"

     The girl said some more words, but again Tara didn't understand her.  
Obviously, she came from somewhere that they spoke a different language.  
>From the look of her, and that strange lizard, it was probably pretty far 
away, she decided.

     Then she saw that the lizard was peering over the bed at her, it's eyes 
seeming to bore into hers.

(Tag Bridget - can Bakke play interpreter?)

* * * * * * * *
Jerram
(Midday, dining hall)

"What do you mean?" Jerram asked.

"Dar and Lesta .. lover's quarrel .."

"Lover's quarrel??" Jerram looked surprised. "Dar and Lesta??"

Saul nodded, "Of course .."

Jerram shrugged, "I didn't know that .."

     Saul shrugged.  "Seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?  I mean, they're 
always together, thick as thieves..."

     Jerram rolled his eyes.  "Don't use that word.  It reminds me too much 
of that street-rat!"

     Saul grinned.  "I see you two are still hitting it off well," he said 
jokingly.

     "I don't know about 'well,'" Jerram said, "but the 'hitting' part might 
not be too far from the truth!"

     "Well, he may surprise you yet," Saul observed.  "You know, I searched 
Shawnee out of a bar back by Whiteriver, and back then she didn't seem all 
that different from the way Gus is...but look at us now!  You never know what 
may happen!"

     Jerram twirled his mustache and gave Saul a disgusted look.  "In case 
you haven't noticed, there's one *very* big difference between him and 
Shawnee, so there isn't much chance that I'm ever going to be *that* close to 
the streetrat, even if a miracle occurred and he actually turned out to be an 
asset to the warren!"

     He decided it was time to dismiss the subject of the streetrat, and 
turned his attention back to Lesta and Darlea.  "You think maybe they came 
from the same place?  Maybe they were...well, you know...back there?"

      "I guess anything's possible," Saul ventured.

     "I guess," Jerram agreed, standing up.  "I need to go and check on the 
trainees," he said.  "It would be just like one or more of them to wander off 
somewhere when I'm not watching them.  Probably run off into the surf and get 
themselves drowned."

     As he walked out of the dining hall, he decided that maybe there was one 
other way in which he could help someone out today.  *Seyd, would you speak 
to Makayla or Firey for me?  Tell them that there are several ground level 
apartments that are, um, empty right now, if their riders would like to, um, 
use one of them.  Just  tell them to be sure to get up higher when the rest 
of the storm hits.*

     [Whatever *are* you talking about?] Seydor asked.

    *They'll understand,* he assured the dragon.

     [Whatever you say,] Seydor sighed, and then Jerram could feel a wave of 
excitement course down their link.

     *What's going on?* he demanded.

     [Darath has returned!!]

* * * * * * * *
(The green)

     Tara had heard the news from Varaenna at the same moment that Jerram had 
gotten it from his own dragon.  She rushed out onto the green, with Varaenna 
padding along behind her, as the great rose-gold Empress and her smaller 
consorts winged in to land.  They were having a difficult time of it, she 
saw...the winds were picking up again, and a black wall of clouds was bearing 
down relentlessly on Jasra.

     *Tell Darath to hurry!* Tara told her queen. *Or, better yet - tell them 
to get back to Ismene!  Tell them about the hurricane!*

      [Already have,] said Varaenna.  [Darath says they are landing.]

     Tara watched anxiously as the Empress settled in to land, the four 
escorts waiting till she was safely down before coming in to land themselves. 
 Jerram and Saul had rushed out of the dining hall, and quickly helped the 
Dragonlady dismount.

    Once she was on the ground, Vignette hurried over to Tara.  "What's 
happening?" she asked anxiously.  "I've never seen weather like this!"

     "Beggin' your pardon, Dragonlady, that's because you don't live on the 
coast," said Bertram, limping up alongside Tara.  "They don't get hurricanes 
at Ismene, I'll bet!"

     Vignette's eyes widened.  "A hurricane?" she asked.  "Tara, we should 
evacuate Jasra at once!"

     "It's too late for that!" said Tara.  "We weathered the leading edge of 
the storm through most of last night.  The calm spot at the center - Bertram 
here calls it the 'eye' - has been over us for the past few hours, but the 
other side of the storm is about to hit!"

     "She's right, there's no time to get the dragons out now," Jerram told 
her.  He'd known Vignette for years, and knew she valued his opinions.

     "We all need to get under cover," Saul said, glancing up at the 
fast-moving clouds that were approaching them.

     "Darath and the other dragons can go into the hatching cavern," Vignette 
said.

     "That's too dangerous right now," said Jerram.  "If the winds are strong 
enough, they create waves that might flood out the ground level of the 
warren, including the hatching cavern.  We've got places higher up in the 
warren where they can go, but they've got to do it now!  If the winds get any 
stronger, they might not be able to take off safely."

     "Vignette, I recommend that you go back to Ismene until this is over," 
said Tara.  "I don't know what's going to happen here; you and the Empress 
shouldn't be exposed to this sort of danger."

     The Dragonlady slowly shook her head.  "All of you obviously felt it 
important enough to stay here and keep the warren intact," she said.  "How 
can I do anything less?"

     "It might be bad," Bertram cautioned.  "We made it through the first 
part of the storm, but the last time one of these things hit here, the 
trailing edge of the storm was worse."

     "Then we'd better get under cover," said Vignette, as the Varaenna and 
Darath both took off simultaneously to get to safety, the other Ismene 
dragons following the two queens.

     By now, the winds were howling fiercely, so that they had to push 
against it to reach the interior of the warren.  "Jerram, are the trainees 
all right?" Tara shouted.

     "I'm double-checking with Seydor now," he said.  "I told them to be back 
to their assigned places before now, so....damn!"

     "What?" she asked, concerned.

     "The streetr...er, Gus," he told her.  "Seydor says they're not back.  
Loki told him they were down on the beach, and are trying to get back up here 
before the storm hits full force!"

     "It may be too late for that," Tara said worriedly.

     "I'll go and bring them back," said Jerram.  "You and Saul get the 
Dragonlady to a safe place, and I'll join you shortly."

     As Tara and Saul herded their visitors inside, she turned and saw Jerram 
hurrying across the green, vanishing a moment later into a wall of 
wind-driven rain as the storm closed over Jasra.

(Well, Kate, sounds like another adventure for Gus and Jerram, eh? :)

NRPG:

Sorry I've been quiet for so long - RL has kept me rather busy of late, and 
I've had some difficulty finding time to sit down and write.  Hopefully the 
worst is over now, so I can be a bit more regular with my posting.

As Bertram says, I would expect that the worst part of the storm is only now 
arriving.  I know, this hurricane doesn't act like the ones we're familiar 
with, but I'm going on the assumption that New Brittany's weather patterns 
might be a tad different from those of Earth.  Bertram knows more on that 
subject than I do, so I'm taking his word.

Obviously I didn't get in all the tags to people that I wanted to, but I have 
another post coming out shortly, in which I should be able to make up for 
that.

I have something else planned to happen during the storm, but everybody 
please go ahead and write as you see fit - my next post should be out within 
a few days anyway.

Submitted by:

John

Tara & Varaenna
Jerram & Seydor
Jasra Warren

Trevor & Trissana, Cleft Warren
T'rell & Flerrion, Daere Warren
Martyn & Havelok, Marrid Warren



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