Briana awoke the morning after the hatching amzed as she looked at 
Starleana. She had grown so much overnight already. Star had been much 
smaller than the other dragons, approx only 2 feet in length, but that 
had doubled in size already. Star was almost as tall as Briana already.

(I am hungry) Briana heard Star say
Briana chuckled...(That seems to be a habit with you)
(Well, I can't help it, I am growing) Star pouted
(I know, silly, I was just teasing you. Lets go get something to eat)

Briana & Star headed to get some food. On the way Briana spotted V'rdeen 
& headed a slightly different way to avoid him.
Just a little ways down the other path though she came across him. "I saw 
you avoid me. Whats wrong? Am I not good enough for you?"
"V'rdeen, please don't start this..."
"Start what?" as he grabbed her wrist "This?" & he roughly leaned down to 
kiss her.
By this time a small crowd had gathered. Briana struggled as V'rdeen 
ground his lips into hers & Star tried to intervene by pushing her head 
between them.
"Get out of the way, you little runt of a dragon" V'rdeen growled.

That was it. Briana had enough. She leaned slightly into V'rdeen, almost 
like she was giving into him & as she felt him relax she flipped him over 
onto his back. She positioned her foot at his throat & said "Don't ever 
touch me again, this is your last warning....& don't EVER insult Star!"

She shoved her way thru the crowd with Star next to her not even glancing 
back.

(Come on Star, lets get something to eat quickly because I need to go 
burn off some of this energy)

They got something to eat quickly & headed for the practice grounds. 
Briana did her stretching quickly & some flips but what she really wanted 
to do was walk the tightrope. That always releieved tensions. So when she 
was looser she climbed the ropes & checked the ends of the equipment as 
usual for signs of wear & thenstarted across the rope. She went back & 
forth, doing simple flips & some swings on the rope & felt the tension 
ease from her body. She was in the middle of the rope when she heard 
coming from behind her

"I have you now, you little bitch"

It was V'rdeen. Briana slowly turned & saw him on the tree branch where 
the tightrope was anchored. She had been so wrapped up in what she was 
doing that she hadn't heard him. She looked down & saw Star asleep. Then 
she gasped. V'rdeen had a knife in his hand.

(Star, wake up. I have trouble)

"Noone humiliates me like you did & gets away with it. I will show you" 
V'rdeen sneared, all the while swinging the knife.

"V'rdeen, let me off the tightrope, lets talk" Briana said

"Talk isn't what I had in mind, bitch. No matter what you have done, your 
body is what I want" V'rdeen continued "If I can't have who I want, I 
will take you"

Briana was puzzled. What did he mean? Who was it he wanted? What was 
going on here. He sounded like a madman possesed & from what she had 
heard around the warren he acted like one since the last hatching.

"Come on, lets see what that body looks like under those clothes" V'rdeen 
sneered, still waving the knife. Briana started towards him carefully 
when all of a sudden V'rdeen slipped in his precarious position on the 
tree limb. As he struggled to grab the branch to catch himself the knife 
he had been holding sliced thru the rope. Briana felt herself plunge 
towards the ground.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH" Briana screamed, expecting to feel the ground hit 
her any second. All of a sudden she was caught on a different surface, 
not the ground.

(Star?) She asked wonderingly

(Yes, Briana, are you alright?)

(Star, how did you get under here so quickly.....& you are flying! You 
aren't supposed to be doing that yet!)

(I just thought myself underneath you. I love you, Briana. I couldn't let 
you die)

Star landed at that moment & Briana threw her arms around her & hugged her.

(You saved my life, Star. I love you too)

"Briana" Briana heard V'rdeens voice behind her "Oh God, Briana, I am 
sorry. I don't know what has happened to me" V'rdeen's voice broke on the 
last word & he started to cry.

"V'rdeen?" Briana knelt catiously beside him, afraid this might be a 
trick but V'rdeen just buried his face in his hands & started crying harder.
He kept crying out "I am sorry, so sorry". Briana put her arms around him 
& held him & rocked him til he calmed down.

"V'rdeen, talk to me. What has been going on?" Briana asked as his tears 
subsided.

V'rdeen hesitated then blurted out "It's Evelle!"

"Evelle?" Briana asked questioningly

"I have always loved her, since we were younger. Then when I thought I 
might have a chance, when we both joined, she became involved with Wynn. 
I never even had a chance!" V'rdeen sobbed again.

Then he calmed a little again. "I went a little nuts after that happened, 
especially after the mating flights. First I lost Evelle then I kept 
losing any other chances I had. Something broke inside of me & I have 
been acting insane lately"

"V'rdeen, I am sorry you are hurt but thats no reason for you to behave 
the way you have done recently" Briana stated.

"I know, oh god, how I Know" V'rdeen broke again "I could have killed you!"

"But you didn't, but I do think you owe some women in the warren your 
apologies, & maybe more" Briana stated "I think you also owe Almiron your 
apology & some type of restitution for what you did"

"I didn't do that!" V'rdeen stated emphatically "I may not like him much 
but I didn't do anything to him or his stuff, I swear!"

Briana looked at him quizzically & then decided she believed him. After 
all, after everything else he had just admitted to her, why would he lie 
about that.

"V'rdeen, lets go back to the warren. I will go with you if you want when 
you amke these apologies" Briana stated.

"I would like that, Briana" V'rdeen said "Thank you"

They headed back to the warren & Briana sighed, wondering what the heck 
she had gotten herself into. Even though she believed V'rdeen, she 
wondered if the women of the warren could ever forgive him.

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

NRPG: V'rdeen will look up any of the women he has harrassed & explain 
the story he has just told Briana. Briana will be there to back him up & 
if there is any physical violence they will have to come thru Briana 
first. V'rdeen is so down on himself right now he won't even stand up for 
himself, but Briana will. So, David, Minty, Darlea & anyone else V'rdeen 
has had runin's with, thats the story. Also, we would go to Wynn & Evelle 
& explain things too, & with V'rdeens feelings about Evelle, that will be 
the hardest stop as far as he is concerned.