**The Things One Learns When Lending A Shoulder To Cry On**


Wisp
****** 

[Day 12-after the mating flight; Loki wins]

Three times in as many days was getting to be to much for him to handle. It
made him remember why he stayed away from Warren's as much as he could, but
the happenings of the last few days had made it impossible for him to pull a
disappearing act and so he'd had to suffer during the females' risings as
best he could.

<You think you've suffered,> Smoke commented to his rider as he caught the
silent curse. <Try being a dragon and not being allowed to go after the
female when she rises. Then tell me how much you've suffered!>

Wisp snorted. Smoke sounded a bit to smug and satisfied to have been truly
put out. Must have found himself a wilder on the rise, he thought. 

He walked out of the cool surf and shook his head to clear the water from
his eyes then sat down in the warm sands giving the mating passion a chance
to ease from his body. Much more of this and he was going to have to go into
town and do something he had promised long ago not to do.

But a man could only take so much of denial before he went totally crazy.

He heard a sound and looked around to figure out where it came from. Then
saw someone who hadn't been there when he'd entered the water for his
cooling off, and wondered just how long they had been there. 

For a moment he simply watched and then noticed that the person seemed to be
upset. Gus... That's who it was. Recognition finally came to him.  

Okay so he knew who it was, but what he didn't know was why the boy was
sitting out here all alone... and crying! The Gus he knew had never cried.
Not so anyone would know it anyway and surely the boy would never have let
anyone see it if he had.

Wisp stood and slowly walked over to sit down beside him. For a moment Gus
didn't even seem to notice him so Wisp spoke.

"Are you okay Gus?" he asked and saw Gus turn away.

"Go on Little one tell me what has you so upset," Wisp said softly. "You've
known me a long time and know I can keep a secret, so tell me what has you
sitting out here all by your lonesome crying."

Gus scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. "Loki just won a mating
flight- You know what that means?"

Wisp hid a grin. Was that all. Well the first time might scare some people,
maybe that was it. "I know lad. But why should that upset you so? Dragon
mating flights..... I've heard can be rather... fun? It wasn't you're first
time was it?

"I wish," Gus responded sourly. "Not after Duggan was done with me." She
gazed somberly out at the sea for a moment.  "But it was hers...how can I
face her again after what I just done to her?"

Duggan! That slime never messed with boys.....

Wisp fought not to let his reaction to that name show. He fought to keep the
anger out of his expression, not that the boy... Or was he? <he took a
better look now>...would have noticed so caught up in his/her own grief. 

"I'm sure she'll understand," he said calmly. "A friend of yours was she?"
He asked, then wondered how he could frame the questions going off in his
mind without spooking him/her... Damn he wished he knew which it was.

Gus chuckled wryly. "Not likely. M'partner, though."

"Humm" Wisp nodded. "Things might be a bit strained for a while... but she's
a dragonrider so she had to know her dragon would be won by some male..." he
paused slightly and saw Gus flinch. 

"After all if you were at Duggan's I'm sure she trained you to please a
woman... though I've never heard of Duggan running boys before." He added
sly, watching for Gus's reaction.

Gus stiffened. Shit, oh shit, oh shit. She hadn't been paying any attention
to what she said. Of course, what did it matter now? "Can you keep a secret,
trader-man?" 

"Gus we've known eachother a long time now... Have I ever betrayed your
trust?" Wisp asked knowing he was about to learn something vital about the
*boy* he'd protected a time or two. Gus had always been good for bits of
information that had helped him out now and then. "What you say will remain
between us."

'Unless,' he added silently to himself... 'it would be better for you if
someone else knew.'

"Ain't a boy," Gus mumbled quickly.  True, the trader didn't have a
reputation for keeping things like Captain Chessman, but....  Hell, Lainie
would tell everyone now anyway. 

Wisp, though suspecting it still found himself shocked. 

"What do you mean ain't a boy?" he looked down at her even though she
refused to meet his eyes. "Are we talking about you Lad? You're a girl?"

"That's the other choice, ain't it?" Gus responded dryly.  Some part of her
- she didn't know why - was nettled that it was such a surprise.  "And you
ain't tellin' no one, got it?" 

"Maybe you should tell me the whole story lad..... err... lass," he said in
a calming tone. That he hadn't promised her to keep quiet was something he
was hoping to slip by. "Starting with why you felt you had to pretend to be
a boy?" 

Gus stared at the trader in disbelief. "Ain't real safe bein' a girl alone
on the streets. Bein' a boy lowers the odds of...those kinda folk, see?" 

The man nodded. "I can understand that believe me. But how was it you were
at Duggan's?" 

"Born there."

"So your mother was one of Duggan's girl's then?" he asked and saw her nod,
then the question in his eyes invited her to go on.

"And now," Gus spat bitterly, "I proved Duggan right.  I ain't nothin'
better than a whore, same as her." 

"You mean because your dragon won the flight?" he commented. "I know the
others living here wouldn't call you that and you mustn't think of yourself
in that way either Lass. You are a dragonrider now and it was bound to
happen sooner or later.....Just because Loki won... it doesn't mean anything
bad. It's a natural thing for it to happen here. There's nothing wrong with
it. Didn't they explain anything about mating flights to you in training?"

His teachers sure had. In detail that had made some of the landbound
hopefuls cringe while others couldn't wait to win their first flight and
taste the new freedom being a rider gave them. 

"Ain't right.  How could I ... after what Duggan and the others
done...Dammit, I,"  Gus's voice dropped to a horrified whisper, "I liked it." 

Wisp chuckled, and saw her frown. "I would hope that you liked it... Making
love to someone can be very... relaxing at times. But there's nothing wrong
with it Gus... People have been doing it for more years then both of us put
together... What your mother did at Duggan's... you don't blame her for it
do you? Some women with children will do what they feel they have too to
keep their children fed and healthy. You're mother must have wanted you
badly if she found work there to support you."

Gus gazed at the trader. "She had me cuz she was workin' there." She shook
her head. "Point is, I done to Lainie same as Duggan done to me - and I
liked it, just like he done. And that ain't right, no matter what more
you're sayin'." 

This was something she'd have to work out for herself. He knew what it felt
like to have self doubts that others, no matter what good advise they might
give couldn't help with it. Time and acceptance from the people living in
the Warren would make her see how wrong she was. 

"Must have been hard growing up in a place like that..." he said changing
the subject a bit. "What did your father think of it?"

"Ain't you heard me? Ma was one of Duggan's girls - ain't got no Da."

"So she never told you who he was," Wisp muttered more to himself then in
answer to her reply. "You know..... I've been around here a long time... I
might have known your mother... What was her name?"

"Tavie. You're askin' a lot of questions, Darcron. What's the deal?" Gus
turned narrowed eyes on the trader. 

Wisp chuckled. All this time she'd been right here in front of his eyes and
he had been too blind to see. Boy was he going to make one old man happy
tonight. But first he had to be sure it was really her and not some second
or third kid off of someone else.

"No deal Kid... Just trying to help you get things set in your mind about
what happened," he shrugged as if it was no great concern. "Though if you
answered some questions you might see that things aren't as bad as you think
they are... though with you being so young... I can see where you might
think that way."

"I ain't no kid," Gus snapped. "I'm 19 I'll have you know."

"19... No you're no kid Gus... "But you shouldn't worry to much about what
just happened. I'm sure things will work out given time. You'll see."

"Yeah right," she muttered and got up to leave. She'd taken three steps then
stopped and turned back around to face him. "Well ahh... thanks anyway for
listening."

"Sure lass... Anytime. I'll be around."

He watched her as she walked away and then went over what he had learned in
his mind. No wonder he'd had no luck trying to find her in town. She'd been
there all along right under his nose, but he had been just to blind to see
her. Now he wondered how he could have missed it.

She couldn't be anyone else's kid. Why she looked just like him. It was as
plain as day if you knew what you were looking *at*.

Slowly he stood after deciding it would be cruel to make the man wait
another day for what he had been looking a life time for. But when he got
back to the beach where they now had the ship on her side on the sands... He
was told that the man he was looking for wasn't there. 

"Went off to talk to someone," a sailor told him. "Don't know how long he'll
be gone."

"Well tell him ta look up the tradesman  when he returns..." Wisp effected
the speech pattern Darcron used. "Tell him old Darcron got something he's
been asking for."

"Will do trader." The man said then went back to work.

[Day 13 morning... breakfast]

He should have figured that the good Captain would have been out with his
boat even this early, but Wisp still needed to eat. An other hour wouldn't
hurt the man not knowing, and even if it did, Wisp knew he'd be so excited
by the news that she had been found that he'd be forgiven for stuffing his
face first.

When he was finished he exited the dining hall and made his way down to the
beach where the ship was being worked on. Dolfis was there giving directions
to his crew and the dragonriders' hanging around helping him out, but when
he saw Wisp approach and saw him nod his head off towards an empty part of
the beach, Dolfis turned to someone near by and spoke briefly to the man
before making his way to where Wisp was waiting.

"You got some news don't you?" the Captain asked. "I can tell by the smug
look on your face. What is it. Did you find her?"

Wisp's face broke up into an every wider grin as he nodded. "Yup I did. And
you'll never believe how I found out...or where I found her."

Dolfis let out a whoop of joy.  At last!  He'd even put up with Darcron's
idea of humor for this.  "Tell me, where is she?" 

"I'll tell but you have to promise me you'll take it slow with her," the
trader cautioned, and by the look on his face, the seaman knew he meant it.
"She's had a hard life and things haven't been easy for her the last few
months... You have to go at this slow like or you may spook her. And after
all you've paid me (Dolfis snored the joke) you wouldn't want to lose her
now that you've found her."

"All right, all right, my friend.  You don't need to tell me she's had it
rough...Krel isn't one I'm likely to forget.  Slow and easy.  Just tell me!" 

Wisp looked at him for a moment longer then reached a decision. "Okay...
though I can't really say I'm surprised you didn't catch on sooner..... None
of us did. But you have talked to her recently. That girl of yours had us
all fooled, but I'm afraid that after today her cover will be over anyway..."

"Cover?  Darcron, quit playing games and just tell me!" 

"The lad... Gus... the one who wanted to hear your stories... Isn't a Lad at
all... nor is *he* all that young... *She* is 19 and her mother was Tavie.
It all fits... She adopted the Lad disguise to protect herself after her
mother died."

Dolfis sank to the sand in shock. His knees simply wouldn't hold him up.
"Gus?" he rasped. The little streetrat was his Augusta?  Suddenly it all
fit. He threw his head back an a shout of laughter. "Damn, what a scam!  Oh,
she's good, isn't she?" 

The left side of Wisp's mouth turned up in a sardonic grin. 

"She's good all right... Had me fooled and that's not an easy thing to
do..... So what are you going to do now that you know the truth?"

Dolfis blew out his breath with a whoosh. "Good question that.  I'm guessing
Tavie never told her?"  He looked up at Darcron in question and went on when
the man nodded. "Well....I'll tell her. Explain why I'm so late in coming
for her. But slow and easy you said. Gotta do this slow and easy." 

"Don't be upset with her if she's slow to respond to you at first...
Remember she's had no one to rely on but herself for so many years. Trust
comes slow with her and you'll have to earn hers. You can't just walk in and
tell her you're her papa and then start telling her what to do like she's
one of your crew."

Dolfis grimaced in recognition of the truth of the trader's words.  "Right."
He rose unsteadily to his feet and clapped Darcron on the shoulder.
"Thanks, old friend.  I owe you  - again." 

"Don't worry about it," Wisp winked. "I'm sure I'll find some way for you to
repay me."

Dolfis groaned in agreement and with a wave headed back to his ship.  Just
what he was going to do about his girl, he didn't know, but it was too much
to think about right now.

----------------------------------  

Nrpg: Much tanks go out to KK who helped e write this post by playing Gus as
only she can, as well as Dolfis!!

And KK... What will Dolfis do with what he learned??

******Submitted by: ******


Wisp & Smoke
Jasra Warren

Aka
Barbara