From: "Mint" <mint@saqnet.co.uk>

[Breeze]

He looked around as he heard a muffled thump a short distance away.
There was a man lying on the sands with a small female dragon creeling
with hunger beside him.  

"Just give him some air and he'll be fine."  Breeze heard Tr'etram say
as he took charge of the situation.

He called for a bucket of meat scraps to be brought for the hungry
dragon and directed a youngster to run and fetch a healer.  Someone
passed him a rolled up jacket and he gently lifted t fallen man's head
long enough to push the jacket under his neck as a support.

*I wonder what's happened there?*  Breeze thought to himself as he
accepted yet another bucket of scraps for his dragon.

*The human fell over.*  Saskia said as he looked towards the small
group on the sand.

*Yes... that's obvious.  Do you have to be so literal?*  Breeze asked
with a laugh.  *But WHY did the human fall over?*

*I don't know.*  Saskia admitted as he chewed on a large lump of meat,
almost choking in his eagerness to swallow the morsel and dive into the
bucket once more.  *But my hatchmate is very upset and wishes to know
why
her human doesn't answer her."

*Well he seems to be in good hands anyway.*  Breeze thought back as the
healer who'd been attending the hatching arrived and took over.  *What
are we supposed to do now?  Where do we go?*

*I'm sleepy.*  the dragon yawned widely, having finished a third bucket
of meat.  *Koroth says that we should all go to the hatchlings barracks
but I'd like to sleep now.*

The small creature curled himself into a ball, wrapped his tail around
his nose and began to give vent to loud snores.

*Who is Koroth, Saskia?*  Breeze shook the dragon.  *And where are the
hatchling barracks? Saskia?  Wake up!*

But he got no answer and the's snores just became louder as he sank
into satiated sleep.  With a shrug of resignation Breeze settled down
on the hot sand next to his bondmate and prepared to wait for him to
wake up.

He looked up when a shadow fell across his face and grinned to himself
when he saw Tina standing there.

"Congratulations"  she said as she sank down beside him.

Maybe the wait for Saskia to awaken wouldn't be as boring as he'd
thought, he decided when she snuggled against him....

*******
[Minty - after David returns from Keldarra]

>"So am I." David said, and sat down on the bed.  "I need t'talk with ye
>Mint."
>

His voice and eyes were filled with puzzlement and confusion, and Minty
shivered as she realised that there was something not quite *right*
about the way he was regarding her.

>Minty sat up slowly, and David gave her a kiss on her forehead.
>
>"I need ye t'tell me what happened.  The whole story..."

"I already told you everything there is to know."  Minty began quietly.
 "We arrived at Keldarra..."

"I've already spoken wi' me parents love." David shook his head. "They
say ye and Zael ne'er arrived."

Minty gaped at David, lost for words.

"Tell me what really happened love."  David begged as he took her hand
in his.  "Tell me t' truth whate'er et be, we can sort something out."

Minty pulled her hand from his grasp.

"You don't believe me."  she said accusingly.  "You think I'm lying.
You think I've done something to our son..."

"Whoa!"  David held up his hand to halt her words.  "I didna say that. 
I only said that me parents said ye and Zael ne'er arrived. I ne'er
said ye'd lied."

"But you're thinking it!"  Minty said sadly.  "Or else you'd not be
asking me all these questions.  Tell me.... Did you question your
parents like this?"  She looked at his face and saw the answer in his
eyes. "No.  I thought not.  You just accepted their word for it."  

"But they're me parents... me family... why would they lie?" he asked
her reasonably, reaching for her hand once more.

"And I'm your mate."  she countered  "Why would I?"  

She pushed his hand away and moved as far away from him as the narrow
bed would allow  Her voice and face were calm as she began to tell him
exactly what had happened the previous day, but her eyes were stormy
and her mind whirled with confused bitterness.

"We left here, Zael and I, just after breakfast time yesterday
morning."  Minty began.  "Your parents hadn't had the opportunity to
meet Zael yet so we'd thought it would be nice if we stayed overnight
and let your mother play proud grandma without having to worry about us
leaving too soon."

David nodded.

"Khi was very welcoming when we arrived and she made a great fuss over
Zael.  She'd even gone to the trouble of getting your old crib out from
storage so that Zael would have somewhere comfortable to sleep last
night. Your father - Armes - had taken your sisters to visit the Guild
headquarters so he wasn't there when we arrived, but Khi said he'd be
home the next morning and they'd be plenty of time for him to get to
know the newest member of his family then.

"I took some time to visit with Darlea while I was there, and your
mother was delighted to have Zael all to herself for a while.  We
cooked dinner together, ate together and finally settled Zael down for
the night - together.  Then we spent the evening catching up on
inter-warren gossip before we too retired to bed."

She paused for breath anmd waited for David to say something.  When he
just indicated for her to go on she sighed.

"Your father and sisters must have got back sometime in the early
morning hours because they were already at the breakfast table when I
got up.  Armes made a big fuss of our son... his first grandchild...
and your sisters gave Zael a patchwork quilt that they'd been working
on
ever since they knew I was pregnant with him.  They were so proud to be
aunties and there was a lot of rivalry between them as to who could get
him to smile most."

"Sounds just like them"  David murmured quietly

"We had a family lunch, and then I left Zael with Khi again for a while
so that we, your sisters and I, could go for a swim. I tried to find my
father to let him know that he had a grandson, but he apparently left
Keldarra months ago and no one knows where he went.  Night was
beginning to fall when I finally persuaded your mother that I really
couldn't bear to face another night away from you, and she made me
promise to bring Zael back soon before she'd let us leave.

"I strapped Zael into his carrier, mounted Kirimith's saddle and took
off for home.  The next thing I remember is being here at Marrid."

"Ye didna stop somewhere along the way?"  David asked her when he was
sure she was finished speaking.  "Was there anything unusual about t'
trip home?  How did ye come t' be injured?"  He reached out to touch
her ragged earlobe and winced as she flinched away from his touch.

"That was Zael."  Minty told him with a shrug.  "He was in a playful
mood and I think he was attracted to the glitter of the ear ring.  He'd
torn it from my ear before I could stop him, and we couldn't get his
fingers open to retrieve it from him. I knew he'd give it up eventually
and I was in a hurry to get home so I let him keep it."

"Was there anything unusual about t' flight home then?  Did ye notice
anything different or strange about t' countryside?"  David asked,
remembering the strange area of nothingness that he'd run into earlier.

"Not on the way home."  Minty frowned thoughtfully  "But there was
something on the way there."

"What?"  David asked eagerly

"We did the 'port to Keldarra in two jumps."  Minty told him.  "It's
difficult to explain, it sort of felt like something had reached out
and pushed us.... hard!   Kirimith said it was like being slammed into
a rockface and it knocked her out of the teleport before we reached
where we were going. She said that for a second she'd felt as if the
life was being wrung out of her."  

Minty shook her head.  

"Something definitely felt wrong but it passed so quickly that I
thought I was imagining it. We landed and caught our breath for a
minute or two and when nothing else happened we continued on to
Keldarra."

"How about on t' way home?"  David prompted her.  "Did ye feel t' same
thing then?"

"I don't remember anything happening."  Minty shook her head in
frustration.  "All I know is we landed on the green and Zael wasn't in
his carrier where he should have been.  I can't even ask Kirimith
because she's still unconscious.  What are you doing about finding our
son, David?  He'll be cold and hungry and frightened by now and
broadcasting his misery to every dragon or telepath in mindshot. 
You're a telepath... why aren't you out there looking for him?"

He shook his head and opened his mouth to say something.  But his words
never left his lips.  There was a commotion outside in the corridor and
both David and Minty poked their heads out to see what was happening.

An unconscious Tina, battered, bloody and bruised, was carried past
them on a stretcher to the next room.  In the wake of the stretcher
bearers was a small group of worried looking people, including the
young man who'd brought her the flowers that morning.  For a moment she
wondered why he was bare chested, then put the thought from her mind as
they entered the room and the door was firmly closed behind them.

"That's t' young man that was asking about Kirimith and ye."  David
said thoughtfully as he stared at the closed door.  "Did ye notice t'
strange mark on his back?"

"What mark?"  Minty asked indifferently  "I've more than strange marks
on strangers backs to concern me at the moment.  What do you intend to
do about finding our son?"

"Firstly I'm going t' talk wi' Waylene."  he told her

********
[Breeze]

He groaned as the already familiar pang of hunger twisted his gut for
the third time in the last two hours.  Although Darter had explained
that the hatchlings would do little but eat and sleep for the first day
or so, he hadn't managed to convince Breeze of the swiftness urgency of
the dragonet's need for food.

He grinned wryly to himself as he pushed another bucket of chopped beef
under the dragonet's jaws and vowed to believe literally everything the
trainer had to say about dragons in future.  

<..>

The scream of draconic rage assaulted his ears and his mind leaving him
reeling in pain.  

*Help her!*  the urgency of the appeal had him up am running out of the
barracks before he had time to think.  Saskia, creeling with mixed
hunger and fright followed behind him.

<..>

He skidded to a halt just yards from the brilliant glowing green queen
protecting the fallen body of a woman.  It took Breeze only few minutes
to recognise Tina, her face was so battered and bloody.  

There were people milling around trying to get close enough to help but
the dragon hissed and sopat with rage every time someone got too near.
Finally one braver than the rest dared the queen's wrath and stepped
forward with his hands held wide.

>Stepping closer, Theos held up his hands, and looked at the dragon.  
"It's ok." He said as the shining green dragon crouched protectivly
over her
>rider.  "I can help her, but you'll have to move."

>"Please, let us help her."  Breeze said 

He concentrated hard as he too stepped forward and hoped that telepathy
was something that didn't fail when it was needed.  *Shella?*  he sent
soothingly.  *I'm a friend of your rider and I'm trying to help. But
you have to let us get close if we're to help her.*

The queen turned to him, her eyes blazing with anger.  With a screech
she reared on her hind legs a trickle of smoke drifting from her
nostrils as she opened her mouth wide and prepared to flame him.

Screaming his own rage, Saskia darted in front of his rider.  He reared
as high as he could on wobbly legs, spreading his wings wide, blocking
the larger dragon's view of Breeze.  

*NO!*  He screamed fiercely. *You won't hurt my rider!*

Taken aback by the small dragon's sheer nerve, Shella pulled back and
settled to the ground in surpise allowing Breeze to dart under her
wings to kneel beside Tina's prone body.  Theos quickly followed and
togther the two asessed her injuries.

<Later - in the med centre>

Tina stirred and groaned in pain.  Breeze quickly rang the bell to call
for help then gently stroked the woman's hair.  Her agitated fingers
sought his and she clutched at his and she clutched his hand tightly
until he stopped trying to pull away.  After that she seemed to settle
once more.  A few minutes later the door was pushed open and a staffer
bustled in to check Tina's condition.

*Your hatchling is outside waiting for you.* the woman told him

There was a scuffling from outside, a squeak of shocked surprise and
then Saskia burst into the room.  He was quickly followed by two
annoyed aides who did their best to shoo him from the room.

Breeze tried once more to disentangle his fingers from Tina's grasp but
she clung to him, her head tossing from side to side on the pillows. 
Helplessly Breeze looked at the staffer.

"Let hi  stay. He's not doing any harm."  she sighed as she watched the
dragon cuddling up to Breeze's legs.  "But if he makes any noise or
fuss then he goes straight back where he came from."  she warned Breeze
sternly.

Breeze grinned his thanks and sank into the chair beside the bed once
more.

"He'll behave I promise."  Breeze told her gratefully.  "How's Tina."

"Tina's fine."  Tina surprised them, her voice filled with pain.  "A
bit frayed round the edges maybe,  but alive and kicking."

"Do you remember what happened?"  Breeze asked her softly

<Tag James>

*******
[Minty - evening]

"You have a visitor."  the staffer announced as she stood aside to
allow Khi to enter.

Minty stiffened when she saw who was standing there, and her voice was
cold as she bid Khi come in and sit down.

"I had t' come and see how you were doing and t' offer my help in
searching fer Zael."  Khi told her as she sat down.  "After David told
us Zael was missing I couldn't stay away.  I know how terrified you
must be and I wanted t' be here wi' you to offer my love and support. 
If there's anything I can do ye only have t' ask."

"You could tell David the truth about my visit to Keldarra."  Minty
challenged her.  "Why did you tell him that we never arrived?"

"But ye didna come."  Khi's brow furrowed in surprise.  "Why would I
say ye hadna if ye had?  Armes and I were looking forward t' seeing t'
bairn again and we were disappointed when ye ne'er sent word that ye
had changed yer mind."

"Again?"  Minty asked confused  "You said you were looking forward to
seeing Zael again."

"Of course we were."  Khi patted Minty's hand.  "Bairns change so
quickly at this age and we wanted t' see how he'd progressed since yer
first visit."

"But ... but...."  Minty stuttered  "Yesterday WAS the first time I'd
seen you since Zael was born."

"Yer confused m'dear."  Khi told her gently  "Ye brought the bairn to
see us a month past.  Ye stayed wi' us overnight and promised t' bring
him again soon.  Armes was away and he didna get to see him til the
following day..."

"And David's sisters gave us that wonderful quilt they'd made for him?"
 

Khi nodded in agreement.  "And ye visited wi' Darlea fer a while.  And
ye tried to find yer father."

"But that was yesterday!"  Minty protested in a shakey voice. 
"Yesterday."

"No m'dear. It t'was a month since .... I remember it well."  Khi
disputed

"That's impossible."  Minty insisted 

"What's impossible?"  David's voice asked from the doorway.

<Tag Justin :) >

submitted by

Minty & Kirimith
Breeze & Saskia






























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