From: "Michael Turek" <mdt02@uow.edu.au>

	Sâron arrived at the warrenladyâs door and since it was open, knocked
 once and walked in.  Naomi motioned him to a chair and he sat down
unhurriedly, trying not to think about what Makron had been jibing him
about.

	ăDonât tell me anything yetä Naomi said as he was about to speak, ălet me
talk with Kâtarr first.ä Her eyes were hard with resolve. ăI donât like my
riders getting into confrontations with the landbound without me knowing
anything about it.ä Sâron almost remarked about how she had said almost
exactly the same thing to him not that long ago, but instead decided to keep
his mouth shut.

>"Come in," came Naomi's voice. K'tarr pushed open the door and stepped
>inside the office.

>"Qualis said you needed to see me, Naomi. What's wrong?"

>"It seems you've been busy since you've arrived here, K'Tarr."

Naomiâs tone of voice made Sâron groan inwardly. She was obviously intent on
chewing the hunter out and really he couldnât blame her. As he had so
pointedly learnt, leaving the warrenlady out of the loop was not the best
way to get on her good side.

>"S'ron tells me you've had a run in with the Deathcult at Grentham Deep."
>She rested one hand on her swollen belly. "And that you followed him into
>Whitbarrow."

>K'Tarr nodded.

>"So explain yourself" She sat up a bit. "What is your connection to the
>Deathcult?"

>K'Tarr blinked. "Uhm, connection?"

>"Why have the Deathcult sought you out? You've only been in town two days
>and you've had two run ins with them already." She said shortly, keeping
>her anger in check.

>"I have no connection to the Deathcult." K'Tarr said softly. "The first
>meeting was purely chance."

>"Then why didn't you tell anyone about it?" Naomi demanded.

>K'Tarr took a deep breath. "People some times get worked up about the
>tattoos. Then they try to start something. I didn't think it was anything
>unusual."

ăKâtarr,ä Sâron interrupted quietly, ăI think what Naomi is trying to say is
that now that you are part of the warren, what you do doesnât just affect
you and Qualis anymore. It affects everyone here.ä ÎWhich is hypocritical
coming from meâ Sâron thought to himself. Naomi threw him a look and then
returned her attention to the rather cowed hunter.

>"Then why did you follow S'ron into Whitbarrow without telling anyone? You
>could have compromised his safety!"

Sâron could swear that there was a note of concern in that statement: not
just for him as a dragonrider, but something else. He tried to keep his face
neutral to the others in the room, but underneath he was struggling with the
idea that Makron might have been more right that Sâron gave him credit for.

>"Warrenlady," K'Tarr said flatly. "I am not a trainee dragon rider. I am a
>hunter. I am a fighter. It is difficult for me to wait when my friends are
>walking into danger. And even though I have been here a short time, you
>have all been so? open to me, well, I wanted to help."

>"Look, K'Tarr, I don't know how things happened in Jasra, but we do things
>differently here in Norwall. I can't have a loose cannon running around and
>I can't have you keeping secrets from me, especially about the Deathcult.
>They are more of a threat then I can tell you."

>"Then tell me everything, and I'll help you."

ăThe fact is, Kâtarr, we donât know Îeverythingâä Sâron said shortly,
getting fed up with what was almost bickering. ăThatâs exactly why I was in
Whitbarrow in the first place: to find out more about whatâs going on. If
you know something that we donât, volunteering that information would help
us greatly and maybe we could help you in return.ä Sâronâs eyes narrowed.
ăPersonally I donât like being followed and in doing so, you put yourself,
me and others at risk. If you want to help, tell us first.ä Kâtarr blinked.

ăIâll keep that in mindä he replied softly, first looking at Naomi then back
at Sâron. Then he took the hint that was visible in both their faces and
quietly stood and walked out, closing the door behind him.

****

ăWraiths?ä Naomi replied incredulously. ăAre you sure about that? I go the
impression that this cult was nothing more than that: a cult. How could they
have any control over the wraiths?ä Sâron shrugged, then reached into his
shirt and pulled out a tightly rolled sheaf of paper, which he dropped on
the desk. Naomi raised an eyebrow in question.

ăThese are copies of the reports that were written after the recent wraith
battle at Geodeä Sâron explained. ăThey give some very interesting
information on what the wraiths can do that isnât public knowledge.ä

ăYou know, you could have asked me to get theseä Naomi said, rifling through
the papers. ăThese are official warren documents after all.ä

ăYou never know who sees what and this was much faster. The bottom line is,
however, we might not be dealing with people controlling wraiths here. It
might just be the other way around.ä

ăAre you sure about this?ä Naomi asked dubiously. Sâron shrugged again.

ăItâs a leap, Iâll grant you that, but itâs better than nothing. What this
means is that we need to be prepared.ä Naomi nodded her agreement.

ăNo, if worse comes to worse, the one thing we wont be is unprepared.ä

****

*Will you just give it up?* Sâron was past getting irritated with his dragon
trying to order him around: it was beginning to get downright annoying. *I
think you need to realise that we humans can make these decisions ourselves
without any help, especially from nosy dragons!*

*We will see* Makron replied smugly.

*Now why does that not make me feel better* mumbled Sâron to himself as he
stood up from his table and walked towards the dining hall door. When his
dragon started to feel good about himself, Sâron knew that trouble couldnât
be to far away.

>Naomi put out her hand to push the dining hall door open and stumbled
>as it was pulled from the other side.  Two strong arms reached out and
>stopped her from falling to her knees and a familiar soft laugh told
>her that her rescuer was the one person she really would rather have
>avoided right now.

>"Are you OK?"  S'ron asked as he held her safely upright.

>"I'm fine."  Naomi told him, trying to pull away from him without
>making it too obvious.  "I wasn't looking where I was going and didn't
>expect someone to be opening the door at just that precise second."

Sâron felt a sudden urge to hold her close to him but repressed it
instantly, knowing that it was just what his dragon wanted him to do. In
fact, he wouldnât be surprised if Makron and Amethyst hasnât somehow set
this up.

*Just do it and donât think about it* Makron told him. *You know you want to
and she does to.*

*Will you give it a rest!* Sâron replied sharply. He noticed Naomiâs
features darken for a second and could guess why.

>"Naomi?  Are you alright?"  S'ron asked with some concern as she
>frowned.

>"I'm fine."  she told him with a quick smile.  "Really I am.  It's just
>Amethyst...ä

>"Trying to run your life for you?"  S'ron guessed.

>"Right first time."  she said.  "And she won't take no for an answer
>either."

*Now where do I know that from* he thought pointedly, for once not getting a
response from his bondmate.

"So what is it she wants you to do?"  S'ron asked with a grin.  "Maybe
you should do it just to get her to leave you alone. It usually works for
me,
since Makron can be as stubborn as stone sometimes.ä His tone was light, but
he could see Naomi was making an effort to keep a smile on her face.

*TELL HIM!* Sâron heard suddenly, Amethystâs shout loud enough to echo his
mind. He looked at Naomi with a puzzled look on his face, already
half-expecting what she might say and partially dreading her saying it.

>"OK! OK!  She wants me to tell you I love you."  Naomi told him in an
>embarrassed rush.

>Then she pushed her way past him and entered the dining hall leaving
>him standing staring after her open-mouthed in surprise.

>"You'll catch lots of flies that way."  M'lent told him sympathetically
>a few seconds later, patting him on the shoulder.  "But you won't catch
>her.  Close your mouth and go after her ... there's a good lad."

Sâron regained his composure for a moment and glared at Mâlent.

ăDonât you start,ä he said. ăIâve had enough of that from the dragons.ä Mâ
lent
stepped back and raised his arms in mock surrender.

ăOkay, okay, just trying to help.ä

ăIâm sure you wereä Sâron muttered as he eyed the still-swinging doors
through which the warrenlady had departed. ăJust like Makron and Amethyst
were Îhelpingâ.ä

*Go to her* urged his dragon, *now is when she needs you.* Sâron paused for
a moment, trying to decide whether to rebuke his persistent dragon or to go
after Naomi. He wondered if she had said what she did just to get Amethyst
off her back, or if she really meant it. He still wasnât sure how he felt
about Naomi, but it was enough to convince him to take Makronâs advice.

It took some time to find her, but he eventually found the figure of the
warrenlady seated on a rock near the hatching cavern, seemingly lost in her
own thoughts. He walked up silently and took a position just behind, looking
out over the warren while trying to compose his thoughts. Naomi didnât
notice him approaching and so they stayed like that for a while, both unsure
of what that outburst had meant and how much of it was true.

ăSometimes I wonder if we really understand the bond between dragon and
rider. I think that if the hatchling candidates had any idea of what they
are getting themselves into, they might just reconsider.ä Naomi started a
little at the sound of his voice, and then laughed quietly.

ăI agree. The disadvantages do sometimes seem to outweigh the advantages.ä
She sighed. ăIâm sorry, Sâron. Amethyst kept·well, nagging me until I said
something and·ä

ăI was getting the same thingä Sâron replied with a quick grin. ăIt seems
our dragons have decided that they know whatâs best for us.ä

ăSince when have they not thought that,ä observed Naomi. ăI think itâs a
trait of all dragons.ä

ăI wonât disagree with that,ä Sâron said, walking over and taking a seat
next to her.  ăListen, I can fully understand if you said what you did just
to get Amethyst off your back. I might have done the same thing with
everything Iâve been getting from Makron, but·ä

ăBut?ä

ăBut Iâm not entirely sure that he is wrong.ä The both felt silent for a
second, before Sâron continued. ăWhatever you want to do about this is fine
with me. Perhaps if we try hard enough we can convince Amethyst and Makron
to forget about this and leave us alone. But Iâm not going to do or say
anything that is going to make you feel awkward. We do have to work together
and I have to respect that.ä Sâron stood to leave, but was restrained by a
hand on his arm.

ăPlease, stay a moment Sâron.ä Her eyes were sad and full of indecision as
she silently pleaded with him not to leave. He realised it would be wrong
just to walk away and leave her like this, so instead he took her hand in
his and sat back down.

[Tag Les *grins back*]

****

[Next day]

ăYou are taking this seriously I gather?ä Galen asked.

ăI wouldnât have asked you here otherwiseä Sâron replied. He had asked Galen
and Darkkon to talk about the possibility of a wraith attack and what they
should do about it. ăI think the Governor had enough reason not to lie to
me. He was telling the truth, or what he thought was the truth.ä

ăSo this could be a hoax?ä Darkkon asked, speaking for the first time. Sâron
nodded.

ăIt might very well be. But with what I have observed of this cult and what
I have heard, they are planning an attack on the warren of some sort. We
need to be ready for anything. You two know the capabilities of the riders
more than I do, so Iâm asking your opinion. Are they ready?ä

[Tag Ben and Ismail]


Submitted by,

		S'ron and Makron
		Norwall Warren

____________________________________________________________________________
___
         _
        / \      _-'
      _/|  \-''- _ /
 __-' { |          \          'Listen to them - the children of the
     /              \          night. What sweet music they make!'
     /       "o.  |o }
     |            \ ;                           -Dracula-
                   ',
        \_         __\
          ''-_    \.//          Michael Turek
            / '-____'           mdt02@uow.edu.au
           /					ICQ #32360480
         _'
       _-'
____________________________________________________________________________
___

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