Shawnee
********  

She kept quiet after Ojean had given her his report of the trip into Cabral.
Something had been bothering her about it and it wasn't until after her
brother had left that she figured out what it had been.

Gus *and* Loki had gone with them. Ojean had only said it once. The rest of
the time her brother had been sure to include only mentions of himself,
Teewith and Gus going on the trip, but the last time he had said Gus *and*
Loki had known where to go..... 

Maybe it had been just a slip... but then again... 

"Did something about Ojean's report strike you as a bit odd?" Shawnee's aqua
eyes lifted and looked across the room to where her Wingsecond was seated at
a side table going over the days patrol schedule.

"You mean his one slip about Gus *and* Loki?" he replied to her question
with one of his own. "Noticed that. So what are you going to do?"

"Call Gus in here and scare the hell out of him so he'll never dare do
anything so damn stupid and dangerous again!" she snapped then turned her
mental attentions towards her dragon.

<<Doshy my sweet love... Will you please ask Loki how their trip to Cabral
went?>> she sent the thought to her dragon. Maybe if the gray wasn't
expecting the question... She would get the answer she needed.

<Loki..... I was wondering how your trip into Cabral went?> the Teal asked,
when she had found him sunning himself on the beach. She lowered her body on
to the warm sands next to him. All part of her big plan to get him used to
seeing her around, so he wouldn't later be suspicious of her suddenly being
there around him a lot... 

<The trip was fine, Doshy.  Why?>

<Oh just wondering if your rider finished what he was sent for or if you'll
have to go back again,> the teal commented. <The sun sure feels nice today.>

In an aside so the gray wouldn't hear her, Doshy sent back the conformation
to her rider that Loki *had* gone to Cabral with his rider.

<I think Gus finished.  Was there a problem?>

<Oh no... No problem,> Doshy sighed, stretching her body out a little more.
<I was just wondering. You know... I think I'll go for a swim. The water
looked cool today.> she told him and then got up and headed for the water.

<My rider... they defiantly went together... How can that be when Loki
hasn't been taught to teleport yet?>

<<That my sweet beautiful Doshy is what I'm going to find out... Please tell
Loki that I need to speak with his rider now.>>

<Loki said his rider is... ah... busy at the moment but he'll give him the
message when he can...> the Teal replied a second later causing Shawnee to
frown.

"What's wrong?" Ed'wen asked, noticing the change in her expression.

"I just had Doshy ask Loki to tell his rider that I wanted to see him here
now... and Doshy told me Loki told her that Gus is...busy... and he'll give
him the message when he can." She told him, her frown increasing. "I think
maybe I'll wonder on over there and find out just what it so important that
his dragon refuses to give him my message now."

She began to stand up and Ed'wen waved her back into her seat.

"Let me," he said. "After all it'll give me a chance to do something in this
partnering of ours and remind them that there are two of us they have to
deal with. You can ream him out when I bring him back."

She couldn't help but grin at his words. 

"Just make sure you leave enough of him for me to *ream out*, she smiled
sweetly and turned back to the file before her trusting Ed'wen to get to the
bottom of Gus's reason for being to busy to report to the Wingleader's summons.

......... 

Shawnee sat in her office wondering what she was going to say to Gus. That
he had taken his dragon and teleported without having gone through the
classes set up for that was bad enough. But to have done it and then tried
to hide it... She didn't know which was worse.

A knock sounded at her office door and she called out for the person to
enter. When Gus walked in, she saw right away the defensive look he wore.
Ed'wen walked in right behind him and it was all Shawnee could do not to
react to the bruise darkening on the left side of her Wingsecond's face.

She was about to ask what had happened when an angry flash of his eyes
warned her not to ask... So she held off... for now.

"You wanted to see me Shawnee?" he asked, ignoring Ed'wen all together.

"Yes Gus I did," she sat back in her chair, regarding him with cool aqua
eyes that never left his face. "I'd like to know just what in the hell you
think you were doing taking a young dragon into a teleport when neither of
you had the training to do so?"

Gus flinched.  Shit, oh shit , oh shit - how had Shawnee found out? And did
she know about Ojee's part yet?  "Had to go to Cabral," she offered,
shrugging. Maybe she could brazen this out....

"I knew that already from talking with Tara," She stated coolly. "What I
asked was what you thought you were doing taking an *untrained* dragon into
a teleport where neither of you had any business going! Do you know how
dangerous that is! You both could have been killed!"

"All you gotta do is make a picture in your head of where yer goin'.  Ain't
like I could screw up thinkin' o' Cabral."

"Wrong!" Shawnee snapped, angry eyes flashing now. "So very wrong.
Teleporting is a very dangerous thing to do and even older riders who have
had years of experience can come to grief from badly pictured places.
There's a hell of a lot more to it then *making a picture in you head* as
you will find out when you and Loki  have had the proper training classes."

"Fine, then I'll find it out whenever Jerram gets around to that.  Was that
all?"

She stood there glaring at him. Had nothing she said gotten through that
thick scull of his. She could see he wasn't taking her warning seriously and
*that* was unacceptable. It could get him and his dragon dead.

"No. That's not all," she calmly stated, but there was steal in her tone.
"You will not try teleporting again until you and Loki have finished your
training and Jerram decides to pass you on to a Wing. If I find out you took
it upon yourself to do so....." she paused long enough for him to fidget
where he stood, even though Gus tried to hide it.

Still she stood there waiting for her warning to sink in.

"Fine, then I'll find it out whenever Jerram gets around to that. Was that all?"

Gus very nearly smothered a flinch.  Breathe, she reminded herself.  Shawnee
didn't appear to know about Ojee - the important thing was making sure she
never did.  "You'll...?" Gus doubted the wisdom of pushing Shawnee this way
- but if she was mad enough at Gus, she wouldn't look elsewhere.

"I think," she started slowly, eyeing him sternly. "That I am going to
require your promise not to teleport before you go, and I want to know how
you talked Ojean into not saying anything about you doing so the first
time..... He had to have known."

Shit. Think fast, streetrat, get the boy outta this now! "It ain't that big
a deal.... And he ain't been watchin' trainin' - don't know we ain't learned
yet." <Loki! Tell Tee to tell Ojee that he DONT know about the portin', got it?>

"I hope not Gus... For I would hate to find out that my brother knew about
it and kept it from me," she told him. "Trust is something Ojean and I have
always had together... I would hate to think he would start to lie to me and
I couldn't trust him. Being able to trust him is important in allowing him
to do the job he does."

"He ain't been watchin' trainin' and I never told him."

She would let Ojean's involvement drop for now. Only because she couldn't
prove anything.. but remembered that she still had not received Gus's promise.

"Fine... but before you go I still require that promise. Trust in a
dragonrider's word is important too..."

Gus shrugged. "Sure, if its that important to you."

She waited... She wanted him to say the words. His half attempted didn't
satisfy her. She wanted him to spell it out in words that meant something.

"I'm waiting."

"Waitin' fer what? I just said, didn't I?"  Gus frowned.  The danger with
Ojee had passed, but what was Shawnee still so upset about?

"For your promise." She stated calmly.

***Submitted by: *****

Shawnee & Doshayne
Wingleader, Jasra Warren

Aka
Barbara