They made no secret of their approach, but A'shair and Meena were so
involved in talking together neither of them heard anything.  Naomi's
cheerful;  "A'shair" had an explosive effect though, literally.  A small
fireball expanded between the two, knocking them both backwards onto the
soft grass.  Naomi gave a yelp of surprise and hurried to help Meena sit
upright again.


The look on Meena's face was just too much for Naomi's sense of the
ridiculous and she laughed aloud, along with Meena and M'lent.


>Naomi saw the nervousness in the young man, and put a hand on his 
>shoulder.  "It ok, I was laughing at the look on Meena's face, as 
>well as my own.  It was quite a surprise." She said, "I shouldn't 
>have crept up on you."
>
>A'shair nodded, and chuckled a bit himself.  It was amusing, now 
>that he looked at it.  "It's good to see you out and about." Naomi 
>said to him as she sat down, "I've always said you should talk more 
>with others."
>
>A'shair just blushed deeply, finding his own voice finally.  "Yes, 
>I know.  Meena and I were just talking.  I was playing my flute..." 
>He said, as if making up an excuse.  "It seemed like such a nice 
>day, and I couldn't stay inside."


"Well now we seem to having quite a gathering on the Green here."  Soliel
said as she drew near, and Naomi scrambled to her feet to greet the girl.
"Naomi, it's so nice to see you again.  Are you rested well?"


"Hi Soliel."  Naomi gave her a quick smile  "I'm a lot better rested now
that the Hatching is over.  Amethyst has been quite calm since yesterday and
I managed to sleep all night.  You're looking well.... settling in and
making some more friends now?"


"Yes I am now"  Soliel grinned quickly  "M'lent introduced me to one of the
newly joined riders last night. C'rrin, I think he was called!"


"Ah yes!"  Naomi's face sobered slightly, but she ignored Soliel's puzzled
look and went on;  "Lacey tells me you've been giving some of your free time
to entertaining Jaquel for us?"


"She likes music, and I like to play.  It's not an unpleasant task."  Soliel
tried to make light of her thoughtfulness  


"I'm really very grateful to you Soliel. Thank you."  Naomi sat down on the
grass again and tried to draw Soliel with her, but she indicated A'shair and
then her harp and Naomi nodded her understanding.  "The music drew you I
know.  Go ahead...."


She watched as A'shair and Soliel spoke briefly, and when the music began
she lay back to watch the clouds pass overhead and be soothed by the
melodies the two produced.  They were so talented.....


<..>


She was almost asleep when they changed to a joyous dance tune, and before
she even realised what was happening M'lent had pulled her to her feet and
was waltzing her around the Green.


"Stop... we can't dance here.  Everyone will be watching!"  she laughed and
tried to pull herself away  "Please M'lent let me go."


"Nope!  It's time for some fun!"  his face was solemn, but there was a
twinkle in his eyes  "Besides let them watch and envy me... the happiest man
in the Warren because I have you in my arms!"


"Oh you flatterer!" she cried, but she relaxed into his arms and danced
anyway  "What would you do if I told Mira?"


"How did you know about Mira?"  startled, he pulled back enough to look at
her grinning face  "I've told no one in the Warren about her....."


"Except Ebony."  Naomi grinned broadly as he realised  "He told Malachite
and Vonn... and they told Amethyst!  Simple really, and I should just have
kept you guessing about it.... let you think I was all seeing."  Her
laughter was kindly


"Remind me never to tell Ebony anything again."  he muttered under his
breath  "Is nothing sacred in this place?"


"Do I really need to answer that question?"  she asked as he whirled her
back into the dance


<..>


When the music finally stopped, Naomi was breathless and flushed, but she
still wished it could go on.  Apparently others felt the same, and there
were calls for more tunes.  But A'shair was tired and he put away his flute,
pulling his hood to cover his face once more.


>
>"Are you all right?" Soliel asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.
>
>"I'm fine, just a bit tired.  I'm not used to being out this 
>much..." He said, indicating the sun.  "Besides, it's way past 
>lunch.  Is anybody else hungry?"


The cries of assent came from all quarters, and Naomi suddenly realised just
how much of a crowd the music had drawn.


"Can I escort you for a bite to eat?"  M'lent asked her cheerfully


But she declined with regret, knowing there was still a lot of catching up
to do in her office.  "But you go on with the others."  she told him  "Maybe
another time... when I have time to be me for a while...."


She watched the group go laughing and joking across to the dining hall.  And
then sighed as she turned back to her office.  The brief interlude all too
soon over......


Submitted by

Naomi & Amethyst


NRPG  Excuse the bad pun for a title!  :) :) :)

-- 
Les

the voice and soul of

Timi Caplain  CMO    USS Javelin        T'beth  Counsellor     USS Magellan 
Lillith the Mage         Broken Lands      Minty, Kirimith's rider  Dragon Lands
                          Caliban, Lute's human,  Dragon Lands
Naomi, QueenRider to Amethyst, Norwall's WarrenLady,  Dragon Lands

Come and visit me at  http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5902