NRPG: I tried to leave this a few days to let people get caught up to the
correct day, but I guess you can't expect to have everything - nobody's
posting. So this is the morning of Day 5 - the day after Arri talks to
David (nobody else has approached her yet, I assume). Hopefully people will
be able to work around this.

=======RPG========

FLames. The world was filled with flames and smoke and the smell of burning
flesh. So tired. Who was holding her back? Whose arms were holding her back
from joining them? Why couldn't she see? The world flickered yellow and
orange in invitation, oblivious to her entrapment.

<:It's three hours after sunrise, you wanted to talk to Carie today?:>

The healer woke with a start, opening her eyes and not recognizing her
surroundings for a long moment.

<Thank you, Dae... I think. I feel I could have slept another six hours,
but I guess I should get this over with.>

<:You should see someone if you keep having those nightmares you know.:>

<Yes mother.>

Arri climbed out of bed, ignoring the worst of the aches and pains that had
been part of her existence for so many months. Closing her mind off to her
dragon, she entered the shower and tried to relax and stop panicking. 

The healer really had no clue what Carie was going to say. Would Carie have
her transferred out? She wasn't as important here, but she knew there would
be questions, and probably a certain amount of anger at her leave-taking.

Patting herself dry with a towel, she opened her closets. Everything seemed
to be untouched, if a bit stale-smelling, so she tried to select something
appropriate to wear to the meeting with her senior.

The proposition of finding something she could wear at all, much less wear
that looked appropriate, proved to be a daunting task. At some point she
had lost a fair bit of weight, or so she was discovering. Finally she
settled on a black silk shirt and a green velvet drawstring skirt. Digging
up the softest leather boots she could find, she looked in the mirror.

Her hair was impossible. She picked up a pair of scissors and finally
managed to get it so it was roughly all the same length, but she looked
like a porcupine. Mourning rituals notwithstanding, she had a pang of
regret for the beautiful mass of hair, then shrugged. It would grow back.

Carefully tying a black silk armband around her left arm, she finally
settled on a soft green silk beret to cover the worst of the mess. She was
going to have to get a professional to patch it up, but it would grow back.
Besides, seeing her ears was something of a novelty.

<Does Carie still keep the same apartment?>

<:Yes she does. She's probably not in her apartment anyway, she's
Warrenlady now that Aura's rider is away. Are you going to be all right?:>

<Nope. But what the hell. Don't tell Fiera I'm coming - I don't want to
give her time to build a head of steam up.>

Arri strode out into the early morning sunshine, trying to figure out where
Carie would be keeping audience. Part of her felt like it had come home,
part of her felt like it didn't belong here any more. She was going to have
to resolve that with time. 

Enjoying the light breeze on her face, she followed the path through the
maze that was the Warren until she reached a familiar hallway. Even if her
brain couldn't remember where Waylene's offices were, her heart did.

Pausing before the door, Arri took a deep breath and tapped gently on the
wood. "Carie, may I come in and speak with you for a moment?"

There was a long silence, and then the door opened on a slightly harried
looking Junior... no wait, Acting Warrenlady. Carie's eyes took in the
woman standing before her and registered confusion. "You sounded like
someone I knew, can I help you?"

"Carie, David told me I looked awful, but I didn't think I would be
unrecognizeable," Arri reached up to scratch her nose absently with one
gloved hand. "It's A'Rillia. And before you start yelling at me, or asking
me any questions, could I come into your office, rather than explaining
everything in the hallway?"

The woman's eyes paraded through shock, disbelief, anger, doubt and
resignation before she stepped back and let Arri into her office. "Would
you like tea or something? I would never have recognized you," quipped
Carie as she walked back to the large desk dominating the room. 

"Tea would be lovely, Carie, since this may be a rather lengthy
explanation, depending on how much you want to know," explained the healer
as she setttled into a chair alongside the desk so she wouldn't be trying
to talk over it so much. It was beautiful, but it was rather intimidating.

"Where have you been," began the Warrenlady as she handed Arri her tea. "We
were worried about you." Carie took in the black armband, the shorn hair,
the gaunt cheeks and dark, tired eyes while Arri talked.

The healer sighed quietly. "It was family business. I had not intended to
be gone as long as I was. My parents were very ill and needed immediate
care. They refused any help from Falagand." She sipped her tea and paused.
"When I got there I found out they were dying. I tried everything I could,
but it just wasn't enough, I guess. They were fairly sick by the time I got
there anyway."

Carie nodded understandingly.

"My mother died - three days ago, now, I guess. I was going to throw myself
in after her because I couldn't keep them alive and I felt like I was
responsible somehow. If I'd kept in touch with them, I might have known
they were sick, if I'd been better trained with these..." she waved her
hand in the air, "I might have been able to reverse it."

Looking up at the Warrenlady, Arri shrugged. "Dae knocked me out and
brought me here. She keeps insisting that it isn't my fault. I don't know
if I believe her, but I'm here."

With a sad smile, the Warrenlady sighed, "I can understand why you left. I
only wish you had told someone. We need all the help we can get here right
now, so I will leave any disciplining to Waylene's hands until she comes
back. She won't be home until she's at least had the baby, and frankly I
have enough to worry about without this."

Arri nodded. "I know about some of it. David found me this morning and came
to ask me about Araminta and the amulet. He mentioned something about
pockets of Wastelands near the Warren?"

"I don't even completely understand it myself. You'd have to ask one of the
patrol teams that wandered into them to get more information." Carie looked
at A'Rillia for a long moment. "How are *you* though?"

Sipping her tea, Arri set the cup on the edge of the desk and folded her
hands. "I've been better, Carie. I've lost a lot of weight, and a lot of
strength. I'm not sleeping well and I'm grieving their loss. He never
forgave me you know. Cursed in my face with his dying breath."

The silence deepened as Arri sat with that thought for a moment.

"You can't stay hidden forever. Someone's bound to notice you, or Daetyn,"
explained Carie. "What shall I tell people?"

"That I'm back, that I'm in a period of mourning right now and need a few
days to ...adjust," replied the healer, "For urgent matters, feel free to
contact ne. For now, I need to integrate the fact that they're gone." She
sighed heavily, "Whatever differences we may have had, however much they
may have hated me for Joining with Daetyn - they were still my parents."

"Mom forgave me, at the very end."

The acting Warrenlady nodded with as much dignity as she could muster,
watching unnoticed tears trickle down Arri's face. "Can we give you three
days and then ask you to look at some of the dragons that fell into those
patches outside the Warren?"

Arri chuckled humourlessly. "Okay, that's fine. Otherwise I'll sit in my
closet and beat myself up for months on end. Three days it is. Who should I
contact to see the wounded dragons?"

"Gael and Lakoda have been caring for them as best they can. They'd be a
good place to start," replied Carie as she picked up the tea. "Now you go
get some rest and just sit for a while."

"Yes ma'am." Arri stood up and curtseyed. "Oh wait, Carie?"

The Warrenlady turned from the table where she was setting the teacup down,
raising an eyebrow. "Yes, A'Rillia?"

"Any idea where I can get a decent haircut? I've discovered it isn't a
skill I have and I really ought to get this fixed."

========================================
NRPG:

Chris, I hope this is okay. I had to take a stab in the dark. I know it
sucks, but things have been dead lately and I'm trying to get us moving
again a bit.

So where's the hairdresser and who's she run into along the way?

*Bets*
=====================================================================
"This is who I am, what I do and what I say: If you like it let it be
      ...and if you don't please do the same"  -- Ani Di Franco
     <<=======================================================>>
            Slainte'   --- | ---   shadowsinger@usa.net
         *** The Heart And Soul of A'Rillia and Daetyn ***
  ** Voice of Torrance Graham Steele, Reluctant Prince of Amber **
=====================================================================