NRPG: This is the day after the attack on Marrid and Day 9 in Telnor (for a
point of reference.

Kris :)
-----------------------------

(nrpg: Telnor is getting this too because It deal's with a story
Kris and I have been working on for Kay....)

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

Getting Things Back In Order

"Healer Koda...Healer..." an insistent voice kept calling out her name until
finally she realized the voice was real, and not something she had dreamed.

"Healer I was sent to tell you that it's safe to come home now," the male
rider told her and handed her a cup of luke-warm coffee to help wake her up.
"Waylene set me to bring you home and there are other rider's here to help
bring home the injured."

-----

She looked around, but was surprised not to see C'tain heading up the
healers coming out to greet them as they finally got the injured back to the
warren.

She didn't have much time to think about it as they began moving the injured
riders inside and she was kept busy for the next few hours trying to save
those who had been hurt the worse.

She was exhausted by the time the morning sun was making itself known on the
horizon, and glad that everyone had finally been taken care of and moved
into rooms or where ever they could find space for them.

It wasn't until later that morning when she finally had time to ask after
Yasi and was told the young girl had suffered badly from the events of the
day before.

Koda rushed down the hall to the room the nurse had told her Yasi was in and
Koda nearly wept when she saw her.

Sitting up in a chair near the window, there was no indication she had hear
her name called softly by the healer.

Koda went to her and took her hand, speaking her name a second time, but she
still got no response.

"She's been like that since S'an brought her in after the battle with the
Lord had ended," a voice said from the door, and Koda turned to find Waylene
standing there. "We don't know for sure...what caused it... but haven't been
able to get any kind of response out of her at all since then. I was hoping
your being here might help."

"She wasn't.... I mean no one... one of the attackers...?" the healer
couldn't say the words, but feared the worse, and prayed she was wrong.

"No," Waylene said softly and shook her head in the negative. "She wasn't
assaulted or even touched by anyone. This happened soon after witnessing her
friend fall from the ledge of the apartment. I think the shock of seeing the
girl fall may.. be what caused it... but we can't be really sure."

Koda nodded her head in thanks for the information and turned back to look
at her young charge. "Your safe now Yasi. No one's going to let any one harm
you, so you just rest and get better now so I don't have to worry about you.
You hear me?"

She prayed for some small sign that she had been heard, but not even a
twitch of the hand was felt. Koda got up and walked back towards the door to
stand before Waylene.

"There's not much I can do for her," she told the Warrenlady. "this isn't my
field, but if she doesn't show any improvement in the next day or so, I
think we might have to think about sending word to my father about getting a
name of someone who knows how to deal with things like this."

The two women left the room, both lost in their own thoughts until Koda
looked up, about to ask a question when she saw Sina coming out of a room.
the young healers eyes were red rimmed as if she'd been crying, and Koda
wondered who had been hurt that the girl would cry over....

Then it hit her. She quickened her pace and was nearly running by the time
she made it to the rooms door. She didn't stop even as she heard someone
calling out her name, but pushed the door open and her heart nearly stopped
when she saw the ashen face of the man laying on the bed.

C'tain...

A hand touched her arm gently and she heard Sina's gentle voice saying, "He
was stabbed by a crazy man after the man's friend had died, and Tain wasn't
able to save him, but don't worry Koda... he'll be find in a few days."

"I'm not worried," the healer lied as her tears began to fall. She moved to
stand beside the bed and look down at him. Her hand reached out to softly
caress the side of his cheek. "Tain's to mean to... die...Besides... we got
some unfinished business between us to deal with, and if he dies on me
before that's settled, I'll bring him back to life and kill him myself."

"You really care about him?" Sina asked, as she came to stand beside the
tiny healer and put her arm around her.

"Why would I care about him?" Koda's voice rose a bit, as she tried to keep
herself under control. Seeing the once viral healer... the man she loved,
lying there in the bed looking this way, was able to tear her apart.

"He's pig headed, arrogant, bossy and is always telling me when to eat, when
to sleep...Who I can see, and who I can't. He kisses me silly one minute and
then tells me to forget all about it as if it never happened the next."

She didn't even try to stop the flow of tears falling on their own.

"Koda..."

When Sina pulled her into her arms, Koda didn't even fight it.

"Oh Gods Sina... I love him so much. I don't know what I would do if
anything happened to him." she cried.

Koda didn't see the soft smile that came over the face of the man's sister's
face after the girl had heard the healer's confession.

Sina now understood what was going on between the two, her brother and Koda,
and wondered in the end which one of them would admit their feelings to the
other first... and if the Med Center would still be standing before one
gave in.

"Go on home Koda..." Sina told her a little while later, when she'd come
back to check on her bother and found the healer in the same chair she'd
planted herself in hours ago. "We've got him heavily sedated and he's not
going to wake any time soon. You though need to get some rest. You've been
working most of yesterday and this morning and you're going to wear yourself
out if you don't get some rest."

"You filling in for your brother and taking over nagging me?" Koda asked,
then softened her words with a warm smile.

"Someone has to," the girl returned. "Besides I already had a short nap and
am rested now. So you go on home and get some rest and if there is any
change in his or anyone else's condition, I'll have someone come get you."

Koda... knowing when she was beat... and she meant beat in more ways then
one, gave in and agreed to go on home and lay down for a while.

Once home, she found she couldn't sleep.

Every time she laid her head down on her pillow and drifted off, the dreams
would wake her. There was something... something she still had to do.. but
what was it?

Kay... it had to do with ...Kay... the young man form Telnor... something
she'd promised him...

[[later the day Koda arrives back... she feels the need to get away for a
bit after making sure all is well and in order at her med center... and to
fill a promise she made to Kay of Telnor.]]

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

Kashya

Koda wondered as Ribbon landed if the woman would still remember her. It had
been some time since she was last here. And not at all since her transfer to
Marrid.

As she dismounted and took a look around the farm, her mind wasn't really on
the new crops being planted, or the horses playing together in the corral,
instead she was trying to decide how she was going to go about bring up the
subject of Kay.

She'd purposely hadn't told Kay where he could find Kashya, for she'd had a
feeling the boy would have tried to come out on his own to find her, and
Koda hadn't wanted her to be upset before she could break the news to her...
gently.

Kashya might not even *be* the boy's mother.

Old lady Timari was standing in the door way with her hand up blocking out
the sun trying to see who had arrived, and Koda called out to her.

"Lady Timari...It's healer Koda. I've come for a visit if it's a good time
right now?"

The woman dropped her hand and Koda could see her weathered face turn up
into a smile as she recognized her visitor at last.

"Why healer Koda, you know you are always well come around here," Timari
called out as the old woman went to meet her. She stopped and took a good
look at the younger woman standing there next to the purple dragon and
noticed right away something was wrong.

"What is it?" she asked. "You didn't just stop by here to see a couple of
old women... did you?"

"I never could hide anything from you Lady Timari," Koda's lips turned up in
a slow smile. "There is a reason why I came here today. It may have
something to do with Kashya and who she is. But I'm not sure, so I don't
want to get her hopes up to soon."

"You found out who she is?" the woman asked, hope filled her eyes. "After
all this time?"

"I'm not sure," Koda repeated again. "But I've recently met someone who's
story may have filled in a few things about her past and I'd like to sort of
tell Kashya about them.... without coming right out and telling her about
it... if you know what I mean?"

Lady Timari gave a friendly little snort and turned to motion the healer to
follow her on inside the tiny dwelling.

"Heard about you leaving us... and why," she was saying as they walked.
"Can't says I blame you one bit, with you having to put up with that one up
there. But we sure do miss your visits. Been to long girl."

"I know," Koda admitted.

"Well Kashya will be happy to see you," the old woman chuckled... "You
always did know just when to come around right after she backed up a batch
of them cookies you always loved."

"Really?" Koda grinned. "She's baked some Raspberry, apple cookies?"

"As if your nose didn't already tell you that," the woman snorted a
second time and they walked inside to find the woman under question
bending over the oven, pulling out a tray of finished cookies.

"Look who's come by to see us Kashya," Lady Timari spoke up as the two
entered.

As soon as Koda saw the woman turn to face them, and saw her lips
curve up in a smile of delight.... she knew.

There could be no mistaking the resemblance.

The three of them sat down around the kitchen table and Kashya's
hands began to move as she told Koda it was so good to see her.

For a little while they talked about her new life in Marrid and they
cheered her when she told them she was now the Head of the Marrid
Medical Center.

Slowly she worked her way around to telling them of the battle Marrid had
just suffered though and of her getting caught way from the Warren with the
injured riders.

"I did have some help from a young rider I met in Telnor Warren sometime
ago," she eased in the mention of Kay without giving his name and then went
on to talk about how'd he'd been of help.

She'd seen the flicker of ...something ... in Kashya's eyes when she had
mentioned Telnor, but kept going without saying anything.

She went on to tell them about what she's been doing in Telnor the day she'd
met him and how brave he'd acted when he was called upon.

"The funny thing is," she went on. "Is that even though he can speak with
all the dragons, the boy can't talk or hear himself... he uses a kind of
hand-speak to communicate with his friends, who've all learned how to talk
back to him.

Kashya's face went white. Her eyes closed and a her hands flew up to clasp
her head as if trying to stop the pounding in her mind.

"Kashya....Are you all right?" Koda was by her side at once. Guilt assaulted
he. Had she gone to far? Moved to fast.

<A rider arrives... it is the Red from Telnor.> Ribbon told her rider just
seconds before they all could hear the sounds of a dragon landing.

There was a knock at the door seconds later and Lady Timari got up to answer
it, opening it to find a man and a woman outside.

She invited them in and Koda stood up to greet them, wanting to ask what
they were doing here and how they had found the place when they all heard
the sound of a plate falling to the floor and turned to face the woman
standing there, face white, eyes opened in shock as her lips tried to move.

A voice, sounding forced as if it hadn't been used in a very long time,
broke the silence in the room as if a bomb had gone off.

Kashya's kept repeating one word as her hands clutched the doll in her
arms.....

"Kkkaalewyyynnnnn...."

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

Barbara (a.k.a.

Lakoda & Ribbon
Head of Marrid Warren Healer Hall