{NRPG:  First off, many,  many thanks to Arlene for doing Corwinās bit in all
of this.}

Day 7

Gus turned and headed toward the path into the warren, but before she had
taken two steps, she was interrupted by Lokiās urgent summons.

<Wait, thereās a hatchling and his rider in the water.  I said weād help.>

Growling mentally at Loki for volunteering her, Gus strode back onto the
beach.  There, just collapsing onto the beach at the edge of the water was a
man with a small, sea-green dragon nudging him.  With a few quick steps, Gus
was standing before them.  She held her hand out to help the man up.

 "Here, you look like you need a hand."

 Corwin blinked to clear his eyes -- the young man before him -- looked
familiar... 

 "C'mon, man, the storms gonna hit!"
 
"Come?  Where?"  Corwin asked looking around him and seeing only beach -- and
where had this younger version of the Seathief materialized from?? 

 "Jasra Warren.  Got to get inside before it hits and I can't carry you and
your dragon both!"

 He laughed at the idea of this strapling carrying him, and then noticed the
larger grey dragon behind him in the water -- with the smaller one -- was that
who he heard in his head?  "It saved me... why?  Why would that ... is that a
dragon?  Why would it save me?  And why does it say that his name is
Syngnath?" 
 
Gus sighed heavily.  "Save the damn questions until we're under cover! You and
Syngnath need to get up and get movin'!"

Confused and a bit dazed, Corwin followed the boy up the beach to a path that
led up the rocky cliff.  The sailor staggered slowly behind Gus.  A glance
back told her that the storm was moving in fast and at this pace, they werenāt
going to make it.  Wincing at the need for contact, she looped an arm around
his waist and began trying to tug him faster up the path.  They had no sooner
stepped off the path from the beach onto the grounds of the warren then they
were hit with  the rain.  The winds began, but hadnāt reached full force. 
Swearing against the pain of the needle-like rain, Gus tugged again on the
manās waist, trying to aim him toward the ramp to the barracks.  

<Get that hatchling moving! Donāt wait for us!>

<Sure?>

<GO!>

Loki and the littler green headed up the ramp, their compact size better
suited to getting through this weather.

Gus continued to struggle, the wind nearly knocking her off her feet.  Damn! 
She was never going to be able to haul this man up there in time.  Suddenly, a
dark shadow ahead of them in the rain materialized into Jerram.  Sheād never
thought to be glad to see him.  Corwin stumbled as he climbed up the path --
suddenly strong arms were around him, steadying him.  Jerram took the manās
other side and together they struggled up the ramp and into the barracks, the
door slamming shut behind them.

Gus leaned against the wall, dripping and panting.  The storm was bigger than
any she'd seen and trying to lug that sailor out of the water didn't help. 
She glanced at Jerram.  He, too, was soaked and panting.  "Thanks," she
muttered ungraciously.

"Who are you, and where is this place?  And are those really dragons??" 
Corwin asked in bewildered amazement. 

Gus glanced wearily over at the bedraggled man she had helped to rescue. 
"Like I said earlier, Jasra warren - and of course, they are really dragons!" 
She turned away, rolling her eyes.  Corwin stared again at the smaller
reflection of Seathief -- "are there pirates here?"
 
 Gus gave him a look of withering scorn.  "No pirates on land, fool."


 The barracks at least were warm and dry. Gus gratefully accepted a mug of
steaming liquid that was pressed into her hands, noticing that Jerram and the
sailor were getting them too.  She took a curious sip and discovered rich,
warm broth that heated her from the inside.  She drank it down in several
hasty and scalding gulps, watching as Loki settled the hatchling into an empty
nest.  She noticed that Jemma, the warrenās head cook,  had draped a towel
over Jerramās head and was scolding him while she handed him some dry clothes.
 

ćCatch your death of cold you will, going out into the storm... You there,
grab the stranger some of old Rāpertās things, nothing else will be big
enough!ä  

Gus chuckled softly.  Jerram managed to look both amused and abashed at the
same time.  The stranger just looked grateful.  She was still softly laughing
into her mug when Jemma reached her.  A towel was dumped on her head and
strong, motherly hands began to dry her off.  Gus danced backwards in alarm.

ćHere, Gāret, you were to bring his things up and didnāt, so youāll lend him
something dry now.ä

Dry? Dry sounded nice, but there was no way Gus could change in this crowded
room. 

ćUh, no, no Iām fine, really..ä she protested. A pair of much patched pants
and a coarse shirt of a hideous rusty orange were tossed at her feet.  She
looked up to see Gāret smirking at her obvious discomfort. 

<Boy, you are really gonna have to cover me this time.>

Gus scooted into a corner with Loki following close behind her.  Angling so
that he was diagonal across the corner, Gus nudged him and he rose up and
fanned his wings wide, creating a screen.  Hurriedly, Gus dumped the dry
clothes on a chair and kicked off her shoes.  Keeping her back to the room
beyond Loki, she dumped her jacket and shook out the dry pants, ready to pull
on fast.  

*What is his problem?*

Loki thought fast.  *He doesnāt want to change in front of the girls.  Itās a
human thing.*

The other dragons nodded sympathetically at the strange ways of humans.

Gus changed pants rapidly.  The shirt was more difficult.  The wet material
clung tightly and was hard to peel off.  The bandages she had used to bind
herself were even worse.  She finally had to resort to back up against Loki
and catching the edge against one of his talons.  Her heart pounding, she
draped the towel across her shoulders, keeping safely covered.  

<Still safe?>

<No one is close enough.>
 
Gus wriggled her arms into the shirt, trying to balance the towel.  She felt
it slip off as she pulled the shirt over her head and prayed that no one had
seen anything important.
 
Corwin straightened as he pulled up the borrowed pants, his eyes catching the
flash of skin as the boy's towel fell -- and saw the condition of his back --
scars from a whip used repeatedly over a very short period of time.  The marks
of the beatings reminding him of the scars his own back carried. 
 
Gus looked down, the shirt was plenty big enough, nothing showed.  

<You can stop now.> 

Turning around, she noticed the stranger standing there. She was covered...but
his height (dear gods, the man is tall!) gave him just enough leverage that he
could have seen over.  She stepped defiantly from her corner and grabbed up
her wet jacket, checking the pockets.  Gus sat back on her bunk, daring anyone
to make a comment.  G'ret decided he had important business on the far side of
the room.
 
<When did that man stand? He didn't see nothing, did he?>
 
Corwin was startled again by the voice of the young dragon in his mind.... <My
rider, Loki's rider would like to know if you saw... something?> 
 Corwin looked around at the dragon, <Um... saw?>  He thought back, then
turned to walk towards the lad. 
 
<Well, did he see something?>
 <I don't know.  Syngnath is asking.>
 Gus was aware of the man heading toward her, though she gave no sign.  <Ask
faster,he's headed this way!>
 
"My.... um... dragon... wants to know if I saw?"  Corwin looked at the boy
with concern. 

"Saw what?" Gus lifted her chin defiantly, trying to quell her alarm.

 <Didn't you tell the dragon anything?>
<Well, I couldn't very well just ask if he saw you were a girl, could I?>
 
Corwin nodded, and lowered his voice conspiratorialy, "I know how it feels ...
I have scars, too." 
 
Gus breathed in relief, ignoring Loki's shrewish response. She shrugged.  "No
big deal."
 
"Do they make it a habit of beating children here?"  Corwin asked, his eyes
hard, as he looked around at those in the room. 

Gus chuckled sourly.  "Some do."  She peered at him, his concern seemed more
immediate. "Did you mean here? At the warren? I only been here 3 days.ä

 "Those scars are old... so you didn't get them here... were you at sea?" 

 "No."
 Gus held her breath.  Would he actually take that as an answer? And how much
could she say without giving things away?  Maybe she could invent something?
Of course, on the fly, she'd likely make a mistake....
He noticed the boy's reticence, and instead of questioning him further, he
launched into a bawdy sea-faring story.  He pulls over a chair, and stradling
it backwards, leans forward, "My nameās Corwin and I've been at sea
practically my whole life..." 
 Gus relaxed against the headboard.  Thanks be to the Lady of the waves, he'd
let it go. She knew the story, it was an old one, but he told it well and she
pretended to listen.

 "I've lived through storms like this one -- at sea they are terrifying!  But
here, nice and dry, you have nothing to worry about." 

"You saying I'm scared of a storm?"

"Are you?"  Corwin's green eyes studied the boy's face. 

Gus met his eyes unflinchingly.  "Aint the first blow I been through. And I
been through blows out in the wet, too." Privately, Gus admitted to herself
that none were this big...but there were lots scarier things than a silly old storm.

Corwin nodded, encouringingly, "Where?  And what were you doing?" 

"Survivin'. Grew up in Cabral."

Cabral... the port brought back some memories for Corwin.  There was a small
shanty and a beautiful lady....  He shook his head, clearing the memory, "I've
been there." 

Gus shrugged.  "Just a port, nothing special."

"Is that where your parents are?" 

 Gus stiffened, despite all her attempts not to.  I'm sorry Ma, she thought. 
"Don't know."

 "Is that why you're here?  Are you indentured, or something?" 

 "Inden? What the hell?"  Gus frowned in confusion.  What was he talking about?

Corwin grinned at the boy's confusion, "I was... indentured... or that's what
the captain called it... when my Da sold me to him...I was 8." 

 Gus grimaced.  "Nice Da.  But there aint no slaves here."

"That's right," Jerram drawled, leaning over the edge of the bunk.  "We even
let little streetrats go free here."

Corwin glared up at the other man -- he didn't like his attitude. Gus
chuckled.  She wasn't sure who this man was, but his obvious anger with Jerram
was amusing.  Still, Tara expected better.

"Having a special on drowned rat, today, were ya'?"

Corwin stood to his full height, his sea-green eyes turning ice cold, "I hope
you weren't making that comment to anyone in particular, were you?" 

Gus looked at the man in surprise.  He wasn't actually going to fight Jerram
on this was he?  

"I wouldn't stand up for this streetrat -- he's likely to bite you in the
ass." 

Gus's eyes widened as she noted the clenched fists.  Oh gods, they were gonna
fight - over her! She stifled a giggle and stood up between the two. Corwin's
jaw tightened and he was about to reply when...

 "Let it go, Corwin - he's always like that. Besides, he's right.  Or he USED
to be."  She let that stress hang long enough to make her point, "but I aint a
streetrat now,am I, Jerram?"


TAG John...


Katrina