Flying high above the warren, David let his mind search out across the 
land, looking for that one mind that would tell him where his love was.  
Her dragon Kirimith would be with her... David surpressed a wave of 
jelousy and shook his head.  She was always very hidden with her 
feelings, but shared everything with Kiri.  He just wished that someday 
he would be able to get that close to her.

Finally his mind settled on a beach near a lake, miles outside of the 
warren.  Kaylin knowing immediately that it was Kirimith, started to 
decend slowly, giving David time to retract his mind from the link.  He 
saw a dark form gazing across the lake, his mind picturing how she would 
look.  Tired, cold, frightened....

Kaylin landed and David slipped off quickly, making his way down the 
shore, then slowing as he neared her.  She seemed not to hear him, though 
he was certain that she would have.  He wasn't quiet in his approach.  
Unsure how to continue, he inched closer.

"Ye should come home love."  he told her gently when he was near enough 
for her to listen.  She just looked away from him, not saying a word.  

"Ye be cold and tired and not yerself."  He finished off, and crouched down 
next to her.  "Please listen t'me Minty.  Ye couldn't help what 
happened, just as I couldn't when Kaylin won Zena.  I don't blame ye fer 
anything... just come back with me."

Putting his arms around her, he didn't expect her to twist out of his 
grasp, as if his very touch burned her.  "What did I do love?" He asked, 
then saw a glint in the moonlight.  He wasn't sure if it was just his 
immagination, or a trick in the dark.  "Minty, why d'ye..."

She looked at him with dull eyes, and then back at the knife she held 
loosely in her right hand.  "It seemed like a good way out."  she said 
flatly. She shrugged as he reached out to take the blade from her fingers.  

"Minty, please just hand me the knife..." He said, walking closer, and 
she backed away.  Her reflex was to hold the knife up, and David stopped 
cold as the steel blade pointed towards him.  "What did I do t'ye?" He 
asked, his eyes betraying the hurt going through him at her actions.  

Backing off, he looked across the water where the moon reflected over the 
surface.  It suddenly passed behind a cloud, casting a black shadow over the 
lake.  "I was sure that after te'flight with Zena, ye would never 
forgive me.  But ye did, even though I had felt I didn't deserve t'be 
with ye ever again.  D'ye think I would not do te'same?" He asked her, 
"What d'ye think I mean whenever I say 'I lov ye'?  Are they just words 
t'ye, that I say only t'keep ye happy?"

"Would I have stayed, after everything that has happened t'us, if I had 
never loved ye?" He shrugged, and put his head in his hands, running his 
fingers through his hair.  She still hadn't answered him, though she had 
lowered the knife, and was just staring at him.  Why wouldn't she say 
something?  He sighed, and held out his right hand.

Pulling back his shirt sleeve, exposing his flesh, he looked at her and 
took out his own knife.  "Mint, I know how ye must feel.  But how can ye 
just give up on life when ye have so much?  Kirimith, friends in 
the warren, my family.  We all care so much about ye... me most of all.  
Never in me life have I ever cared so deeply about someone, given me 
heart and soul without anything in return but the knowledge that ye love 
me."

"I promise ye this," He said, putting the blade to his wrist, "that 
if ye die, it won't take long before I join ye in eternity.  What d'ye 
say love... I don't want ye t'die, and I can't live without ye.  Come 
home with me..." He put the knife away, and held his hand out 
towards her. "please."

*********** SUBMITTED BY **************

		Justin
NRPG:  Well Les, David's waiting... [[]]

Justin's Page O'Life!!!!:  www.nevada.edu/home/18/almeidaj/page/penguin.html
Cleft Warren Page:         www.nevada.edu/home/18/almeidaj/page/cleft.html
Private E-mail:            punchingbag@juno.com

       /\   /\--^--/\   /\        "Dragons have existed throughout the 
      /  \  | \   / |  /  \        centuries in peoples minds all over the
     /    \ | O\_/O | /    \       earth, no matter their race, creed, or
    /      \_\     /_/      \      color.  How could such a creature never
    |        =\o o/=        |      have been real at one time so long ago?"
    |/\/\/=___|\_/|___=\/\/\|
          /           \					-Justin
========\/\/\/=====\/\/\/========