Afternoon, Day 5

(NRPG:Sheava, Fern and their respective riders make their way back to the
warren.  Yes, I know that our adventure in the woods was never finished, but
I decided to move ahead and let Justin fill that in.  Sorry, Justin. I
thought that it would be a good thing to remind you that there -was-
something going on back there.  ^_^)

        The salty breeze lightly fingered Samika's cheek as the sun shone
brightly overhead.  The combination was irresistable.  Sitting on Fern's
back, with the seagulls calling out as they passed them, the warrioress'
eyelids began to droop.  

        ~All right! We're almost home!~, Fern sang cheerily as they
approached Jasra's shore.  ~Samika?  Hey Samika!~  The turquoise dragon
touched the mind of her passenger, then realized that the human was falling
asleep.  Cupping her great wings, she went into the beginning of a side
roll, as if they were being hit by air turbulence. Samika's reflexes were
ever swift, and suddenly she jolted awake, clutching the dragon's reins.
~GODS, Fern...~, she mentally growled at the creature once she realized the
whole thing was a farce (through their link she could hear Fern giggling).
~Don't you EVER do that again.~

        ~Oh, YOU'RE complaining?  Next time, YOU fly and I'LL ride!~ An
image of herself flapping her arms like mad and the dragon daintily sitting
on her back popped into her mind, and Samika burst out laughing.  ~Fine, you
little scamp, you win.~

        Beside them, a rider was tossed off the back of a wingless black
wyrm.  "AAAAAAHHHH!", shouted Peren, as he fell a few meters.  Sheava then
dove under him, so that he landed back on top of his mount. Peren rubbed his
eyes blearily as he let out a grunt of pain.  "Sheava!", he said, as he
abruptly shut his mouth and continued the conversation mentally.  

        ~Aren't you glad I didn't do that to you?~, Fern said, jerking her
head in their direction.  ~Yeah, yeah...~, Samika muttered.  "Hey Peren!",
she yelled, "you okay?"

        "Fine," Peren loudly responded.  "Just remind me never to fall
asleep on anything that flies."  Samika laughed then, and he shot her a
glare.  "It's not -funny-, Samika!"

        "We're heading for Tara's office.", Samika informed him.  "Where are
you two going?"  Fern glided over to the serpentine shape that was Sheava so
that the riders could talk more easily.  "Sheava seems to be hungry, so I
suppose I'll go with her to get some deer and then I'll follow you."

        "Gotcha," Samika said as Fern banked again in the opposite
direction.  "See you at the warren!"


***

        Samika was about to walk in when she heard the conversation that was
being held inside.

(snip of John's post)

       "When I sent you here, I had no idea of the danger!  Tara, queens and
queenriders are *not* expendable, and we've lost too many already.  The day
you came here, I had you stop at Epion to tell them of Danika's death.
Then Evelle was murdered...and now, Phaedra of Geode is incapacitated, maybe
permanently.  Tara, that's nearly a quarter of our queen dragons and their
riders lost within only a few weeks!"

     "Vignette, I'm willing to take the risk!" Tara protested.  "So is 
Varaenna!  Vignette, Evelle's death may not even have anything to do with 
Jasra...the assassin that Wynn captured may have followed her from Keldarra.  
Isn't it worth at least taking the risk in order to keep a warren from 
disappearing forever?"

     "I know you are willing," said Vignette, as she and Tara turned to see 
Shawnee, Saul, and Jerram approaching with a youngster that Tara didn't 
recognize.  "But I cannot be."

(end of snip)

       Discreetly, Samika entered and flashed Tara a sympathetic glance.  So
she WAS willing to be their Warrenlady, despite the danger the position
seemed to pose.  The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Tara
would make an excellent leader for them all, and she felt bad that Vignette
was going to be an obstacle and not another open doorway.

       "Welcome back, Samika," Tara said wearily as she took her seat.
"This is our Dragonlady, Vignette."

        Samika bent her head in a gesture of respect.  "Jasra is honored to
have you, Dragonlady," she greeted her formally, in her honey-smooth voice.
"I'm sorry I missed your arrival."

        "Hello, Samika," Vignette said.  "You're just in time for the meeting."

***

        And so Vignette began to explain how it would be better if Jasra was
closed down.  Shawnee, one of the newcomers, voiced her objections, and so
did a few others, but Vignette would not be swayed.  "Well, that may be good
but there is still the bit about...", she was saying in response to the
girl's reasoning.

        But just then a great trumpeting rang through out the warren, and as
everyone looked at each other in puzzlement, the same call was relayed from
dragon to dragon. 

        "The Eggs!!" someone shouted. 

     "Their hatching!! Quick get the searchlings!! The Eggs are hatching!!"

        The riders began to trickle out of the room, Samika with them as she
realized that Tara and the Dragonlady would have more to discuss in private.
She sought out Katya, the assistant healer, and led her out to the clearing
where the hatching would be held.

        "Come on, Kit," Samika grinned at her. "Maybe you'll join this time."

        "I hope so," Katya answered back, a gleam in her violet eyes.

        "Hey, Samika!", a male voice called then, and Samika turned around
slightly, to see her partner, Peren, emerge from the fray.  "You missed the
meeting," she said, "but at least you arrived in time to see this."

        The three made their way to the hatching sand, the excited murmuring
of the searchlings all around them.  "Look," Katya gasped, "there's the queen!"
"She's beautiful," Samika remarked.  "I wonder who she's picking..."  

        "We'll see in a moment," Peren chuckled as the crowd parted to make
way for the tiny dragonet. A loud clapping and cheering sounded in the air
as the metallic little dragon tumbled into a delighted girl's arms. 

***

        Soon, all the hatchlings had chosen, and as they walked passed a
young boy who was joyfully meeting his bondmate Loki, Katya released a
disappointed sigh.  "Oh, Kit," Samika was saying. "You'll have lots of other
chances." 

        "I think I'll be hearing that a lot," Katya said wryly.  "But thanks
anyway, Samika."

        "It's no bother," the young woman said as she walked in her
graceful, catlike gait.  "Do you want to be alone for a while?" The
dark-haired girl considered. "I'd like that."


***

        Peren returned with a piece of pie in his hands.  "Poor girl.", he
said to Samika as they retreated further into the warren.  "She'll be okay",
Samika said softly.  "It's a shame, though.  My joining with Fern was
probably the most wonderful day of my life."  His brown eyes turned
expressionless for a moment, and slightly distant as he recalled his
encounter with Sheava in the wastes.

  "I wish that the circumstances of my joining were such," he said, after a
moment.  "But I do not regret joining with Sheava.  She tries, Samika, she
really does, but it's just not in her nature."  

        Samika's lips curved up in a faint smile.  "Don't apologize for her,
Peren. I'm sure she wouldn't like that." 

        "Indeed she wouldn't.", he replied.  "Hey, Samika?  Isn't there
supposed to be a hatching party tonight?"

        "Now that you mentioned it, yes, there is.  Come on," she said,
"let's go."

(NRPG: Uh-oh... I -reaaaally- hope I didn't play some characters in a much
too PC way.  ^^ Oh, well.  If there are any complaints, I promise not to do
it again, okay? Oh, by the way, has anyone heard from Joan? The girl who was
going to play that hunky new male character?)

Respectfully submitted by:
~Christine (Samika & Fern)