Galen:
--------------
The sun was setting, and it was time to go.  Galen watched the clouds
turn pink and gold as Zera saddled Mazel.    

Galen mounted up behind her, prepared this time for the onslaught of
confusion that the fire racing along his arms brought.  What was it
that he was feeling?  He tried to think of what it could be .... and
then he remembered something one of his soldiers had told him long
ago.  'The flame of desire is a funny thing.  It does things to your
mind and body; things that cannot be explained by anything in the
rational world.'  

Was this desire?  Galen shook his head slightly, clearing the thought
before it had time to sink in.  Even if it was desire, he knew she
wouldn't feel the same for him.  It would have been a hopeless
pursuit.  

He managed to get his mind on other things by the time they returned
to the Warren.  As he dismounted Mazel, he noticed Zera was blushing. 
He almost asked about it, but then decided not to.  It was probably
something inconsequential anyway.  He never even considered the
possability that he might be the cause of the blush.

They laughed together as they delivered the herbs and she began
setting
them out in the drying racks.  Lilliana's eyes had gone wide when
she'd
seen the quantities they'd brought back.

"Where did you find all of these?" she asked, puzzled.

"I know a place where they grow fairly profusely..."

Galen choked and Zera shot him an amused glare.

"Papa built a kind of greenhouse for Wastes plants, I went there."

"He did?  How?  Most of those plants refuse to grow for anyone..."

Zera shrugged.  "They grow for me.  You just have to know how to treat
them."

Galen suddenly remembered his meeting with T'grat.  

"If you ladies will excuse me, it's been a long day..."  Galen smiled
at them and Zera grinned.

"Picnic tomorrow?" she offered, and he nodded before leaving.  A
picnic would be relaxing.  

<..>

Galen sat at the table in his room, engrossed in the tactics he and
T'grat were discussing.  They hadn't been talking very long, but they
had already covered quite a few things.  T'grat was quick to grasp the
new strategies Galen proposed and then convert them to aerial combat.

Soon it was T'grat's turn to teach.  He showed Galen the basic tactics
they taught the new riders and explained the basics of aerial combat. 
It would be a few days before the newly joined riders would be ready
for Galen, so he had time still to learn.

T'grat cut their session short that night.  

"Greta hasn't been feeling well today.  I don't want to stay away for
very long.  Can we meet again tomorrow?"

Galen nodded.  "I understand.  I'll be busy tomorrow afternoon, but we
could have another night meeting."

T'grat arched an eyebrow.  "Busy?  Already?  You haven't been here for
very long."

Galen grinned.  "True.  Zera invited me on a picnic tomorrow, and I'm
just assuming it will take a part of the afternoon."

T'grat looked at him slyly.  "I noticed you've been spending a lot of
time with Zera.  There's even some Dragon gossip about you two.  Care
to set the record straight?"

Galen laughed, a shade of sadness in his voice.  "No, there isn't
anything to set straight.  Zera is my friend."  

T'grat wouldn't be put off so easily.  "Really?  You're not interested
in her?"

"It's not that.  She's just not interested in me."

T'grat laughed.  He turned and headed for the door, throwing one final
comment back at Galen.  "Are you sure about that?"  The he was gone.  
  

<..>

Galen took a walk after that.  T'grat's words refused to leave him. 
They teased his mind with possibilities; things he had never thought
about before.  He couldn't accept that she felt any desire for him. 
He hadn't seen anything to indicate....his stopped suddenly.  What
about the blush?  He started walking again, his mind now frozen and
unable to make any progress on the questions that plauged him.  

As he passed the training grounds, still wrestling with his thoughts,
he heard the sounds of someone inside.  He peeked in and saw Talesin. 
Grinning, he walked in.

"Making up for missing this morning?"  

Talesin grinned. "I had a very good reason for missing out."

Galen walked over and picked up one of the practice swords.  "Why
don't you tell me about it?"

The began to spar, Talesin relating the events of the previous night. 
Galen couldn't help wondering if there was a possibility that he would
be telling Talesin the same thing one day.  

After Talesin was done with his story, Galen realized that Talesin
hadn't heard about this morning's events.  Or if he had, he was
waiting for Galen to explain.  Well, Talesin was his friend.  He began
to tell him about his origins.  They moved back and forth across the
mat, Galen's voice providing the background noise to their battle.  

When they were finished, Talesin looked over at Galen and said, "I've
been wondering where you learned to fight.  You have some odd moves." 
Talesin chuckled.  "You always keep me on my toes with those moves."  

Galen laughed a little.  The exercise had felt good.  He was relaxed
now, but his mind still fought to find an answer to the questions
T'grat had posed.  

Impulsively, he turned to Talesin and asked, "How do you know if a
woman is attracted to you?"

[Tag Les]

__________________________________
"Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore!"
Ben Tate
Galen

NRPG:  Sorry to add another tag to your list Les, but Talesin was the
only one available.