NRPG My apologies to anyone who gets this twice... gremlins in the
machine!
***********

<T'grat>

Malachite nudged him in the back and he rolled over.  Blinking against the
harsh sunlight that threatened to explode his skull, he struggled to sit
up.  

*We should go home.*  Mal told him as he held his head in his hands,
nursing the grandfather of all headaches.  *Your hatchlings will wonder
where we are. And there are many things that need to be done at Norwall.*

*Oh gods.* he groaned in dismay as he slumped backwards into the sand once
more. *Why did you let me drink so much last night and where are we?*

*We're where you told me to bring you last night after we left
Whitbarrow.*  Malachite said carefully.  *The lake...*

*What were we doing in Whitbarrow?*  T'grat shook his head and groaned
with pain.  *No!  wait!  Now I remember.  We... I ... was going to avenge
Greta's murder.*

He rolled to his hands and knees and then lurched to his feet. 
Staggering, he made his way to the edge of the lake, and knelt in the cold
waves foaming on the tiny beach to splash water over his head and upper
body.

*We should return home.*  Malachite said again.  *We're needed to help
with the cleaning up....*

*What cleaning up?*  T'grat asked, surprised at the sadness in the
dragon's mental sending.  

*The human village was crushed beneath a landslip. And many lost their
lives.* Mal shook his huge head in sorrow.  

*Fairlight?!*  T'grat was stunned.  *Why didn't you tell me this last
night?*

*I did.*  Mal told him.  *Just as I told you of the death of Foamfollower.
But you were too far gone in drink and grief to pay me much heed. So I
brought
you where you wished to be and grieved for my friends while
you grieved for your mate.*

*The loss of..... Talesin?  How?*  T'grat came to his feet on shock.

*A teleport accident.*  Mal told him quietly.  
 
*Lacey!  She'll be devastated.....*

Sickened by the mindless selfishness that had kept him away from a
griefstricken friend, he cursed himself vehemently as he climbed onto
Mal's back and urged the beast into the air. 

*Garnet's rider grieves not.*  Mal's voice throbbed with sorrow.  *There
are other things that you need to hear that you would not listen to last
night.*

T'grat caught the ominous tone in Malachite's words and braced
himself.....


*******
<Naomi>

>*H'tor and Haroc!*  she staggered under Amethyst's devastating words. 
>*Not possible.*

>For a few seconds she teetered on the brink of insanity, her battered
>emotions unable to cope with yet another death, then she uttered a scream
>of heartbroken loss and disbelief and collapsed to the earth.

She held her eyes tightly closed and clasped her hands over her ears, 
hoping to shut out the sounds of mourning that echoed back at her from
Norwall's walls. Not H'tor... not now when she needed him to help her
through the death of her sister.  Please gods.... not H'tor taken from her
too. 

She was vaguely aware of strong arms lifting her from where she lay
huddled, and of her brother's soothing voice in her ears as he carried her
away from the shocked looks and pitying whispers of the other riders. For
a long moment she allowed herself to relax against his strength... allowed
herself to be comforted by him as she had many times when she was younger.

She had missed the closeness she'd once shared with her brother....

<..> 

"... for the best."  she heard him say as he carried her into the dim
coolness of the hatching cavern. "You'll get over your grief for him in
time and then maybe we can go back to the way things were before you met
him. I know you wouldn't listen before but he was never good enough for
you...."

She struggled in his arms until he set her on her feet once more. Her mind
was churning with anger and resentment at his words.  She took a step back
from him and looked up into his face with steel in her eyes. He faltered
at that look, his words stumbling to a halt at the censure in her gaze. 
Then he straightened his shoulders and gazed back at her coldly.  

"How can you say such things at such a time?  How can you continue to hold
this prejudice against a dead man who can no longer answer your
accusations for himself?" she asked him in a voice touched with a wintry
chill. 

"I never made a secret of my feelings towards him."  S'ran told her  "Why
should I change the way I think or speak just because he did us all a
favour by getting himself killed?  I'm no hypocrite, sister mine.  He used
you disgracefully and gave back nothing ..... to you or to Norwall.  He
didn't even have the decency to keep his concubine decently hidden.  He
flaunted her before you for all the warren to see and even persuaded you
to accept her into your household"

"You're wrong."  Naomi told him bleakly.  "He trusted me to treat Artemis
with compassion and respect.  Her place in our home was our business, no
one else."

"He had you wrapped around his little finger and so bedazzled that you
even gave houseroom to one of his sluts."  S'ran spat out.  "Where's the
trust in that?"

"S'ran!  Naomi! How dare you at a time like this."  Ruth's rebuked
sharply.  "This is no time for petty bickering.... when Lacey's pyre still
smoulders. I'm ashamed of you both."

Naomi acknowledged the rightness of her mother's words with bowed head and
shadowed eyes, but S'ran's bitter hatred of her dead lover wasn't easily
laid to rest.

"It needed saying."  S'ran said coldly. "I see no reason to wail and beat
my breast for someone who held Norwall and it's Warrenlady in such
contempt. Any decent rider would have known he was unwanted here and taken
himself somewhere else.  And our Warrenlady should have had more pride
than to allow herself to be deceived by such as him.  Didn't you ever
think how your infatuation with a rogue would reflect on your warren or
your family?  You let sex rule you."

Wrapping her dignity around her like a cloak she looked at him with
sadness and pain in her eyes, then she turned away without offering him an
answer for his accusations.   Ruth laid a gentle hand on her arm, but she
shrugged it away and walked slowly towards her waiting queen.  

*We still have each other.*  Amethsyt crooned sadly as Naomi leant against
her side. Amethyst settled to the sand in front of the last of her clutch,
and spread her wings protectively over the last gleaming egg... and over
her huddled rider.  *And each of us has a hatchling that will need us.*  

*********
<Lilliana>

A knock on her door interrupted her report writing.  Sighing she placed
the pen in it's stand and called the knocker to 'enter' as she rose from
the desk to ease the pain in her back from sitting too long in one
position.

She frowned as she studied  the tall young man that entered at her call,
and then wracked her brain for the youngster's name. Sometimes it must be
nice to be able to ask a dragon for needed information she decided as she
finally admitted defeat over the boy's name.

"I'm sorry." she said at last with a wry smile.  "I've completely
forgotten your name."  

"We haven't met. I transferred here only yesterday."  the young man told
her as he held out his hand in greeting.  "I'm Kiona. I came to check on
one of the children that was brought in from Fairlight last night."

"Well that's a relief at least."  she told him as she shook his hand.  "I
thought my memory was deserting me and that I was getting too old to do
this job properly.  Nice to meet you Kiona."  She picked up a pile of
charts from the desk and began flipping through them. "Now which youngster
was it?"

"A young boy, Sean by name."  Kiona answered  "His right arm was broken
..."

"Ah here it is."  Lilliana studied the chart for a few seconds and then
smiled.  "He's fine.  His arm's been plastered and he should be released
some time this afternoon.  Is he a relative of yours?" 

Kiona shook his head.  "We're not related.  I just splinted the arm and
wanted to check that he was OK."

" Would you like to see him?"  Lilliana asked  "I'm sure his parents would
like to thank his rescuer personally.  They've been asking after you.. but
of course your description didn't fit any of Norwall's riders." 

She took him by the arm and led him into the corridor.

<..>

Kiona spotted two familiar figures at the end of the corridor.  The blond
woman from the medical tent that he'd met briefly the evening before...
and the dark-haired man who'd scooped her shaking form up and hurried away
with her before anyone had had the chance to protest that she needed
medical aid.

Knowing neither name he could only gesture in their direction as he
inquired of the woman's condition.

"Zera? Fitting?"  Lilliana asked with a frown when he explained what had
happened the previous evening.  "She said nothing to me about this."

She walked faster, leaving Kiona to follow along as she hurried to catch
up with Galen and Zera.

"Zera!"  she called.  "Wait...."

<Tag.. Ben, Chris or Jill>

********
<Naomi - late afternoon>

*The new rider from Falagand has arrived.  Ebony says he was polite and
answered the challenge promptly.*  Amethyst's tone held approval for the
newcomers good manners.  *His dragon is Makron and he will land on the
green in a minute or two.*

Naomi rose from her place beside Amethyst and beckoned J'son to her side.

"Meet with the newcomer and delay him for a  moment or two."  Naomi told
him as she hurriedly straightened her tunic and brushed sand from her
pants.  "Give me a chance to tidy myself before I meet him."

J'son nodded and left quickly.

<..>

Outside the hatching cavern he bumped into Galen and together the two
walked towards the pair from Falagand. 

"Naomi wishes him delayed for a while."  J'son told the older man as they
approached the pair.  "Holdfast says his dragon's name is Makron.  I'll
signal when Naomi is ready."

Galen nodded that he understood and then stepped forward to meet the man
as he descended from his dragon.

>"So, your the new rider from Falagand " he said. He sounded calm and controlled. 
>
>   "Yes, I am S'ron and that is Makron. I believe the Warrenlady was told of my 
>   arrival?" 
>   "She knows, but now is not really the best time to talk to her. Maybe later on. 
>   We've had some trouble lately..." 
>   "I heard. The rogues again, was it?" The man looked sharply at S'ron. "We did 
>   get some sketchy reports at Falagand about what happened, but nothing solid." 

Galen stared at the newcomer for several moments wondering how much he
knew of what had happened the previous night.

>"Yes, we had problems with the rogues. Several riders were killed, including one 
>   of our queenriders, by someone we used to call one of our own."  he said finally

>"I'm sorry we 
>   had to arrive at a time like this. We have had similar attacks at Falagand, so I 
>   have some idea of what you people must be going through. I hope I can be of some 
>   help to you now that I am here." The man nodded, then extended his hand. 

>   "Galen" he said, as S'ron shook his hand. 

He noticed J'son fingers flickering in a signal that Naomi was now ready
to see the man and started back towards the cavern with S'ron close behind
him.

<..>

She watched as S'ron followed Galen across the sands towards her and
wondered why he had chosen to come to Norwall at this time.  B'nair's
message had been short and to the point and had told her exactly nothing
of the man before her except that he had requested the transfer as soon as
he'd heard of the attack. 

Pushing the sorrow to one side she looked up from the transfer papers and
offered him a hand in greeting. Whatever his reasons Norwall had need of
riders to fill the gaps left by the many deaths she'd suffered in the last
24 terrible hours.

She offered him refreshments and a seat, concentrating on her duties as
Warrenlady as a shield against the depression and pain threatening to
overwhelm her if she would just allow it rein.  As she questioned him
about his skills,  hoping to gain an insight into his reasons for coming
to Norwall at this time.  Was he an opportunist intent on advancing
himself?  Or did he genuinely care?   She watched his face grow grim when
he spoke of the rogues that had attacked the warren and knew that he too
had suffered a loss that caused an ache in his heart.

*But to trust him, Amethyst?*  she sent to the watching queen.  *Does he
hope to use our misfortune as a means to seek his own revenge?*

*Makron has told me a little of what motivates them and I think he can be
trusted.*  Amethyst told her after careful thought.  *I feel his anger at
the destruction of my eggs and his sorrow at the loss of my daughter,
Garnet, and
her rider.*

<..>

When she'd asked all her questions she rose and escorted him back outside.

"If you have questions aout your new home please ask."  she told him as
she walked out to the green with him.  "I stay here..."  she motioned back
the way they'd come. "... until the queen is safely hatched, so please
don't hesitate to call on me if there's need. My door is always open."

She looked around for a free rider to help him settle into the warren, and
signalled to Domaia to come forward.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"  she asked him quietly "Or can
I leave you in Domaia's care? She'll show you where everything is and show
you which of the cliffside apartments are free for your use." 

<Tag Michael or Paula>

***
<Next day>

The ache of loss still held her in it's grip, but she found that duty
dulled the mind a little.  So she held to the routine she's established
during her time as Warrenlady, grateful for the distraction that
mindnumbing paperwork could offer. 

<..>

"Look S'ran."  she said a note of impatience creeping into her voice. 
"I've had very little sleep for the last two nights and my temper isn't at
it's best.  If you've some reasonable objection to T'grat's proposal then
let's hear it and be done."

"It's a little late for him to be thinking of the safety of the warren
don't you think?"  S'ran sneered  "Where was he when D'gerrit and his mob
attacked us?  Out somewhere indulging in histrionics from all accounts. 
He
should have been here to defend his home instead of in a tavern in
Whitbarrow...."

Naomi could see the tension building in T'grat as S'ran continued to rant.
 She laid a calming hand on her friend's arm and felt him force himself to
relax and wait out S'ran's display.

"What does it matter who suggested this course of action?"  Naomi asked
her brother abruptly.  "The fact remains ... we need to seal off the back
tunnel into Norwall so that it can't be used by rogues or bandits or
D'gerrit's crowd ever again.  We should have sealed it the first time it
was used.  When C'rinn used that way out to kidnap Greta and escape
unseen."  

She felt rather than saw T'grat's flinch of pain at the mention of his
dead mate.

"Maybe Lacey would still be alive if we'd sealed the way then."  S'ran
said bitterly  

"Don't you think I haven't thought of that!"  Naomi cried passionately. 
"Don't you think I wouldn't change it if I could.  It was me D'gerrit was
after, not Lacey.  He killed her just so he could gloat about it before he
used the same knife on me."

"Recriminations do none of us any good."  Ruth said as she put her arms
around Naomi and hugged her tightly.  "And T'grat's right... that tunnel
needs to be sealed and fast."

"Do it."  Naomi told T'grat as she pushed herself away from her mother's
embrace.  "Take as many people as are needed and seal it now."

T'grat nodded quickly and turned on his heel.

<NRPG  Anyone who's around and wants to help him feel free!>

****
<Later - when Meena arrives>

>"Naomi .." she said weakly as the red-head warrenlady turned at her
>approach.
>
>Meena could see the sadness in her eyes, even if her countenance was still
>that of a Warrenlady. She moved to take her into her arms, "I'm so sorry,
>Naomi .." she said hugging her friend.

She allowed herself a moment of weakness as she hugged Meena back.  It
felt good to let the sorrow and hurt take her.  It felt good to feel the
grief instead of pushing it away.  Meena must have felt her muddled
emotions threatening to overwhelm her because she took over.  She
organised S'ran into taking Ruth home for some rest and then shooed
everyone else from the hatching cave before putting together a simple meal
and standing over Naomi as she ate.

Then she sat and listened while Naomi poured out her misery into Meena's
willing ears.

<..>

Naomi dried her eyes at last and offered Meena a weak smile.

"I'm sorry to burden you with all this."  she said as she fought to regain
her composure.  "I just needed to talk to someone who wouldn't tell me how
terrible H'tor was, or that he was using me to gain an advantage. I loved
him very much and if I had to go back and choose to be with him again then
I'd do everything just the same.  There's only one thing I'd change if I
could." she said softly.

She answered Meena's questioning look with an sad smile.  

"That morning when he came to say goodbye...." Naomi murmured  "If I'd
known it was the last time I'd ever see him,  I'd have told him."

Meena nodded and waited silently, allowing Naomi time to gather her
thoughts, almost sure what Naomi next words would be.

"Would it have changed his mind do you think?"  she asked as she smoothed
her tunic across her still flat stomach.  "Would knowing he was going to
be a father have made a difference to him?  Would it have made him stay
that day?"

Unable to answer her Meena said nothing.

submitted by

Naomi & Amethyst



-- 
Mint,  the voice and soul of

Timi Caplain  Unassigned            Caliban, Lute's human  Dragon Lands  
Lillith the Mage    Broken Lands    Minty, Kirimith's rider    Dragon Lands                  
Naomi, QueenRider to Amethyst, Norwall's WarrenLady,  Dragon Lands

ICQ #5814808
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5902
http://www.dragonfire.net/~Mint/

PGP Public key: http://www.dragonfire.net/~Mint/Mint.asc