Galen
Night of the Wedding
----------------------------------------
"I -- sure," Zera stuttered in surprise.

Galen noticed the surprise in her voice and wondered in anyone had
ever asked her to dinner.

"How do you feel about getting some food and coming back out here --"
she grinned somewhat sheepishly.  "I don't really enjoy eating in the
dining hall.  Too many people."

"Sure."  He wasn't used to eating with a lot of people yet either.  

They went in, and true to prediction, the buffet tables were still
laden with goodies from Uncle's kitchen.  Zera took a tray and
selected a few of her favorite dishes from the wide selection.  

Galen looked at the wide selection of food and saw that there were
many thing here that he had never seen before.  In fact, most of what
was on the table was new to him.  He asked Zera what was good, and she
pointed out a few things for him.  She looked vaugely surprised that
he had asked.  

They went back outside, heading for the bench near the Med Center. 
Zera took a seat on the ground, while Galen sat on the bench.  He
hadn't seen anyone pass up a bench willingly in a while and he had to
smile a little.  Strange girl.

She looked up at him and smiled a bit, her eyes lighting with warmth. 
 "You're not from anywhere around here, are you?"

"Umm...  no."  That must be painfully obvious to everyone by now. 
Well, it was about time he told everyone the truth.  These people
weren't going to be a threat to him.  He was sure of that now.

"Thought not."  She took a long drink ale before taking a bite of the
meat pasty. 

"You couldn't be and refer to dragons as 'lizards.'  Mazel was very
offended by that, by the way."

"Mazel?"  Who was that?

Zera grinned waving a hand in the general direction of the hatchling
barracks.  One of the small lizards came lumbering into view.    

"You have one of those lizards *too*?"  He couldn't help being
surporised.  He had thought that there would be at least one person
out here that DIDN'T have one fo these things.  He had obviously
guessed wrong.
  
"Of course.  Haven't you seen me at hatchling training?"

He shook his head.  He hadn't really every watched the training. 
Maybe he should...

"Oh."  Zera shrugged.  "Mazel chose me at the last hatching.  She's a
bottomless pit for food, but they tell me that will ease off as soon
as she's big enough to hunt on her own."  Zera grinned at her dragon. 
"But since you don't seem comfortable, I thought I'd introduce you
two.  Mazel, this is Galen, who keeps getting hurt.  I've told you
about him...  Galen, this is Mazel."

Mazel ducked her head in something vaguely like a human bow, which
startled Zera even more than it startled Galen.

"They're intelligent?"  That was a big shock.  Not just animals then. 
Just when he thought it couldn't get any wierder, something else came
in.  

Zera laughed.  "That's the first question I asked Lacey.  'Are dragons
as smart as humans?'  Having become joined to one, I have to say yes,
though their perceptions are a bit different."

Galen nodded.  

"Anyway, since you're not familiar with this place, I thought you
might like to ask a few questions.  Go ahead -- I'll answer them to
the best of my ability.  I don't know everything about Warren life,
though.  I'm new here too."

Distracted by that, Galen looked down at her.  New?  Her?  That might
explain a little of what he saw.  She moved around this place with
such ease, though.  

"Where are you from?"  

Zera shrugged.  "The back of beyond, mostly.  My parents were
interested in Wraiths and were studying the places where they were
known to have been.  Even after the Wraiths came back, we still
trekked around near the Wastes.  After they... died... I continued the
work.  I just happened to stop at the Traveler's Rest, which is where
Lacey and M'lent found me."

Ahhh... her parents died.  That would explain another piece.  

"Why did you come here?"

Zera started in surprise.  "Curiosity, mostly.  My parents told me a
fair amount about dragons and Warrenfolk.  Those of us who are
LandBound all learn at least a little about it.  After all, we're all
bound by the Compact..."  Compact?  She notice his confusion.  "The
Warrens protect us from the Wraiths, they have the right to take those
that they think will be able to Join with dragons...  That's not the
whole thing, of course, but that's how they get
to pick people out of the general populace to come to the Warren."

Galen wondered if the wraith's were the things he had met already. 
Probably not, listening to what Zera said about them.  

He listened as she told him about her scar, about her parents, about
what she had learned about Wraiths, and a little of the history of
this place.  Some things started to make more sense.  The liz..uh..
Dragons, this Compact, and the relationship between these people and
everyone else.

He asked about the mating flight and Zera laughed a little before
answering.  She told him about the bond between rider and Dragon and
how the emotions evoked by the mating flight infected the riders.  

As she talked, Galen watched her.  She was an interesting person.  She
had seen death close hand at a young age and had made it out.  Not too
many people could do that.   

She asked him a few questions too.  He was still wary, out of habit,
in answering but he didn't avoid the questions.  He told her about his
parents.  About his mother who died a year after he joined the army,
about his brother and father who were to busy to spend time with him
and about his life before the miliatry.  

He told her about his free time as a youth and some of his adventrues.
 Learning how to swin, how to climb the hills around his home and
exploring the caves in those hills.  

Finally finishing his meal, Galen stifled a yawn.  He was tired.  Zera
obviously noticed this and ordered him to bed.  He happily obliged. 
She took his tray and headed for the kitchens.

Galen snuggled into his bed and thought about the conversation he had
just had.  He was going to have to spend some time thinking, but he
finally felt comfortable with the world he was now in.

__________________________
Quoth the Raven "Nevermore".
Ben Tate
Galen