Samika chuckled as Gus led Shawnee's brother out of the Dining Hall.  "Nice
kid," she nodded to Tara, with a grin that faded at her look.  "You think he
had something to do with Jerram being drunk," she stated, amidst the hum of
conversation and the merry laughter in the room.  "I do.", Tara said.  "Hmm,
well, maybe he did," she said, a twinkle in her blue-green eyes.  "You've
got to admit, though, that he must be pretty clever."  Tara rolled her eyes
at her, and Samika laughed as she turned around to get a glass of punch from
Peren.

	"This isn't spiked, is it?", she asked him pointedly.

	"I'd like to think that I'm above that," he said, looking almost insulted.

	It was a nice little party·there were bright streamers, and good food,
obviously there was some potent drink somewhere, but she sipped the punch,
and it -seemed- to be quite harmless·

	"How could you?!" The slurred shout rang above the voices of the
warrenfolk, cutting through conversation like the fall of an axe-blade.


	"What the·" , breathed Vignette behind them.  "Oh gods·Devon·", Tara
murmured not long after.

**snip**

	All eyes turned to look at the young dark-haired man moving toward the
middle of the hall. "How can you be enjoying yourselves!" he roared,
spinning as if trying to take in the whole room at once.

Saul, as well as several other moved cautiously toward the inebriated man.
He could see the man had been in some sort of scuffle. His eyes was blacked
and a trickle of dried blood stained the corner of his mouth. On top of that
there was a look of despair and near madness in the man's face.

"Calm down, friend," Saul said.

"I'm not your friend!" Devon spun on him. His face shattered. "You act as
though everything were fine! But it's not! It's not!"

"Devon .. please," Tara moved toward him.

"Oh Gods .." he moaned .. "You wouldn't let me believe that Piper would come
back .. but then you all go on as if nothing is wrong! But it is
..Everything is wrong without her .." He dropped to the floor and covered
his face with his hands, "It's so wrong .. "

**snip**

	"Great, just great·", Samika muttered, slamming her glass down somewhere.
Devon had been sweet when Piper was alive, even when he tailed after her the
way he did, that could have been called adorable.  But to see him reduced to
-this-·

**snip**

"Devon," Tara said, laying a hand on his shoulder.  "I know how you felt
about Piper, but this doesn't help!"

     "She's gone," he sobbed, "and everyone's here having fun as though it
doesn't matter..."

     "It does matter," the young queenrider told him.  "It matters to all of
us.  Devon, she and Bishvilea died very heroically to save the lives of
others.  But this is a special night for these new riders, and she wouldn't 
want this happy time to be ruined for them!"

     "It isn't fair!" Devon sobbed.  "Why did she have to die?"

Peren and Samika had come up behind the stricken Devon, meanwhile.  Samika
wasn't even trying to conceal the look of impatience on her face.  "Devon,
what if Piper were here?" she demanded.  "What would she think of you now?"

Peren knelt down behind Devon.  "She would want you to be strong, for her,"
he suggested calmly.

     Tara nodded, and leaned over to whisper in Peren's ear.  "Can you do
something with him?" she asked.   "See if you can get him sobered up a bit,
and try to find out if there's something we can do to get this straightened
out?"  Peren seemed to be a patient listener, and she hoped that perhaps that 
was what Devon needed right now.

**snip**

	Vignette, flanked by Tara and Samika at both sides took seats around one of
the tables.  "Will he be alright?", she asked.  "What's wrong with him?"

"He was very close to Piper, one of our riders who died at Geode," Tara
explained.

"Ah, I understand," the Dragonlady said sadly.  "Many were lost that day."

"But Jasra had a big part in the victory that day," Samika put in, deciding
that this might be a good time to earn Jasra some points. "Our riders and
Daere's destroyed the entire left wing of the wraith horde!"

"Really?", Saul asked, who was sitting right across from her.  "I hadn't
heard about that. I knew 
about the battle at Geode Warren, of course, but unfortunately Whiteriver
wasn't able to send a contingent at that time."

"I'd like to hear about it too.", said Shawnee, aqua eyes shining
enthusiastically.

"It's worth hearing.", Tara said.  "Samika, you fought at Geode. I'm sure
the others would be very interested in hearing how we won that day!"

"I don't mind telling it·", she began, putting a smile to her listeners'
faces.  "I just hope I don't put them to sleep while I do."

"I don't think there's much of a chance of that happening," Tara said as she
stood up.  "If you will excuse me·  I have other things to attend to."

"We will talk later, Tara," Vignette reminded the young queenrider as she
departed. 

"Of course," Tara replied.

"Now Samika, would you like to start?", the Dragonlady asked.

Samika leaned forward, assuming the air of a storyteller, or maybe even a bard. 

 "As you know, Jasra was part of the number of warrens which had banded
together to fight Ash and his army of wraiths.  But I don't think any of us
even realized how big a battle it really was until we got there.  There were
hundreds of dragons, but they must have been only half the number of the
wraiths.  The whole sky was filled with them.  We were worried about how we
were to deal with them, but worry was soon replaced by excitement when we
heard the plan that was designed for us.  It was possibly the craziest,
silliest, most brilliant scheme I've heard in my entire life.  It involved a
bag of hay, a bucket of oil, and lots of dragonfire."

***
(NRPG: If any of the newcomers want copies of the battle posts, ask·  Most
of us still have 'em, I think. ^_~)

"That's incredible," Saul laughed, as soon as Samika ended the story.
"Ingenious.", Vignette smiled.  "Original," Shawnee mused.

"It appears that Jasra houses a lot of valuable minds," Vignette said, her
fingers tapping on the table top.

The other three stared at her, and broke into a flurry of Jasra Warren sales
pitches all at once·

"Oh, yes, and we have·"

"The training of the riders here·"

"The most wonderful people·"

"I get the picture," the Dragonlady said with a wry laugh.  "I don't want to
have to close down your home, either, but we'll see what happens, alright?"

They sighed in chorus.  "Well, it was worth a shot," Shawnee said with a
grin, as the others broke into tense laughter.  No one wanted the name of
Jasra scratched of the list, but if worse came to worse, at least they would
be prepared.

***

~So what do you think she's gonna do?~, Fern asked, as they slid through a
cloudbank. 

 ~I don't know.  I just hope that everything we've done to keep this place
open wasn't all for nothing.~

~Hmmm·. I know what you mean·.~, the dragon said, enormous wings propelling
them even higher and faster.

There was a prickling running up Samika's spine, and suddenly she was aware
of another form swathed in lightlessness. 

The moon was veiled thickly by white clouds, making it so that the two pairs
could barely view the other.  

~Weeeeee've got company·.~ Fern sang.

~You think I don't know that?~

~No need to get snappish.  This dragon seems familiar, but he's hiding his
thoughts from me·~

"Think fast," a voice whispered, a blade shining dully in the dark as it
swung in the same moment that Samika's mount swooped to evade it.

She slid her own blade from her sheath, she had not done serious aerial
combat with a sword ever since she had left the dead warren she had called
home, and it was surprising to her that this stranger would initiate such a
battle.

"Who are you?", she demanded of the invisible attacker, as Fern turned on
her side.  Samika's leather strappings held her in place, there would be no
danger of her falling unless her opponent was able to cut through them, but
she doubted that he would do that.

"We'll do the niceties once we're done with this," he assured her, his voice
low and masculine.  There were sparks as metal met metal. The two swords
crossed and their holders held it in that position for barely a moment
before their mounts swung gracefully away from each other.

Fern and the strange dragon circled each other, their underside exposed to
the rushing wind as their riders ran strategies through their heads.
Finally the other dragon went into a stoop, his rider pressing against his
serpentine neck.  Before they reached the water the dragon snapped his wings
out, barely skimming the waves.

"Come on, Samika.  Let's have a little fun," he urged.  Urging Fern to tail
his dragon, Samika assessed the situation.  ~First he wants me to fight him,
now he wants me to chase him·~

~Don't go too fast·lag a little behind so that his dragon thinks you are
slow· then at the last moment, throw in a burst of speed and go up beside him.~

~Whatever you say, rider dear·~

Fern slowed her pace a little, wondering whether the male would fall for it.
He did, and then she sped forward.  And when they were neck and neck, Samika
retrieved a dagger and threw it, slicing the other rider's strappings.  A
swoop to the right, and they unseated the man.  

They landed on the beach and waited while he swam to shore.  "You fight like
an Orani," Samika commented as the man, dripping wet, approached her.

"That's because I -am- Orani.", he said.

Her hand flew to her mouth, and her eyes widened.  "But that can't be! My
people are all gone, killed·"

"Not me," he said, stepping into a spot where light shone from one of the
gas lamps.  "Do you recognize me now, Samika?"

"The Goddess keep me·", she murmured in amazement.

Respectfully submitted by: 
~Christine (Samika, Fern and the mysterious strangers· ^_~)