Gazella called the meeting to an end and told 
he girls to have a good day, reminded them that 
if they ever needed someone to talk to she would 
be available. She had called after Tera and 
asked her to stay for just a moment.

"Gazella I'm fine...Tera started, thinking the 
older woman wanted to talk about how she was 
feeling since learning about the death of her
brother. 

Gazella smiled, "I can see that. But that's not 
what I wanted you to stay behind for. I figure that 
if you wanted to talk to me about it, you would. No 
I wanted to talk to you about Dame Eliana, and ask 
if you'd keep a eye on her. I know how up set she 
as so I made up that little bit I told her about 
myself."

"Tera gasped in surprise. A smile broke over her face.
"You didn't..did you?" she asked, only to see Gazella 
nodding her head, a humorous guilt glinting in her 
hazel eyes.

"I was fourteen when I joined, truth be known. But 
I didn't grow up in the Warren. I was landbound just 
like all of you," she shrugged. "I have found that a 
lot of the girls I talk to seemed to relax a little 
better if I tell them I was raised up in the Warren. 
They figure that if I was a warren brat and I was still 
afraid it's okay for them to admit to their fears and 
doubts too," she said by way of explanation.

"Makes sense to me," Tera replied, thinking the woman
must know what she was doing, or she wouldn't have been
doing it so long. I actually did make some sense. "So 
you want, that I keep an eye on her and help her out 
if I think she needs it?" 

"And report back to me if you think I need to know,"
Gazella told her.
***************
Back at the barracks after the lesson, Tera and 
Tahlaya were hoping to help settle some of Dame 
Eliana's fears. The young girl had been distracted 
uring the lesson. Several times eighter Tera or 
Tahlaya had to give the girl a gentlenudge to get 
her mind back on what H'nry was saying.

They had been talking among themselves for about 
twenty minutes when they saw Kay walk in. He gave 
them a friendly wave and then settled down to give 
his dragon Sabbith a good oiling. Some time later as 
heir talk was breaking up, Kay walked over to them 
with his slate. Giving the little one his warmest 
smile he wrote [Beach Party?] then he looked to 
each of the girls in turn pantomiming and signing, 
*Swimming, dancing, running .. it will be a great 
time.*

Soon Kay had the girls laughing. He was glad to 
see a smile on Eliana's sweet face. He could 
remember what it was like to lose your family. 
*We must go soon, or they will leave without us,* 
he signed, knowing that Tera and Tahlaya should get 
most of the that by now. They had both been
very apt learners, and he was grateful for their 
eagerness to learn with him.

"A party of any kind sounds good to me," Tera 
spoke along while she tried to sign the right words 
to Kay. Dame Elaine agreed, anything to get her mind 
off of the things she had learned earlier.

 "They're getting some of the older riders to come 
ive us a lift, so hurry," Kay signed back.

"Tera!!" They all heard someone yell from up front.
"There's someone here to see you,"

Tera's head came up when she heard her name called, 
then turning to sign to Kay that she'd be right back, 
she left the trio to see who her visitor was. Hoping 
it was the tall dragon rider who was beginning to 
mean so much to her. 

Ga'brin stood there leaning lazily against the door 
frame in the enterence to the barracks, joking around 
with another riderwhen Tera walk in, his head turned 
and smile broke over his handsome face when he saw her.

"Well hello, this is a nice surprise," Tera greeted 
him, a happy feeling rising up inside of her at seeing 
him there. She sent a questioning look Ga'brin then to 
the other rider. He was new to her.

Ga'brin reached for her hands and pulled her close for 
a quick kiss of greeting, before turning to introduce 
her to the other man. Tera knew her cheeks were slightly 
flushed. It was the first time he had ever given her a 
kiss of any kind in front of another person.

"Tera I'd like you to meet my patrol partner and friend 
C'rispin, rider of the purple dragon Gushine."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Tera smiled up at the 
big man. He was huge! Towering over Ga'brin by a good 
six inches, he made the man standing beside her look 
like a shrimp in comparesence.

They traded small talk for a few minutes and then 
C'rispen said his good byes. When he was finally out 
of sight Ga'brin tuned to Tera, who had been wondering 
why he was here.
 
"We stopped in at the dining hall after getting back 
from patrol and heard there was a beach party planed. 
I thought I'd see if you'd be interested in going with 
me," he asked, hoping she'd say yes.

<you should go> Sundellath said in her mind <Preston's
rider is a good human and you need to have some fun.>

>>What about you dear heart<< she returned. >>wouldn't
you like me to stay with you?<<

<no I'm just going to sleep anyway. And I know Ga'brin 
will keep you safe. go have fun> the little blue gave 
her permission

"We could bring our guitars and provide some 
entertainment for these poor deprived people," he 
enticed her knowing how much she loved to perform in 
front of a live crowd.

"I'd love to go with you," Tera agreed willingly, 
and leaned closer to his tall frame. Her right hand 
came to rest on his chest just over his heart. "Do I 
get to ride to the beach with you on Preston?" 

His arms came around her and he turned her so that he
could look down into her green eyes. "Well you don't 
think I'm going to let you fly off with some other man, 
now that I've finally got you where I want you. Do you?" 
A smile played at the corners of his mouth. He was 
flirting with her. Man! he thought, if his sister Abbe 
were here to see this, he'd never live it down.

She remembered what Tahlaya had said about this man
being shy! Someone called that one wrong she thought!

Before she could answer, Tahlaya came up behind them.

"Well I was going to tell you that there was a dragon 
and his rider out side ready to take you to the beach," 
he said, her face breaking out in a knowing smile upon 
seeing who Tera was with. "But I think I'll go back and 
tell them to find another passenger,"  She smiled at 
a'brin then turned and went back the way she had come.

"I think I like your friend," he grinned down at her. 
"She's one smart girl. Go get your guitar woman and 
don't take a long time about it."

Preston was already waiting for them when they came out
side. Ga'brin mounted the big blue first then held his 
hand down and helped Tera up. After seating her in 
front of him, he wrapped his arms around her and 
brought his mouth down next to her ear.

"Now I have you where I want you," he said in a 
deliciously wicked tone of voice. "Maybe I'll just 
fly you away from here to a secluded spot I know of 
and forget the beach party all together."

"Oh kind sir! I'll do anything you want, just be 
gentle with me," she played along, trying to sound 
frighten, but ruined it when she started to giggle.

"Don't tempt me woman," he groaned, tightening his 
arms around her before giving Preston the order to 
teleport.
*******

(nrpg: fill free to fill in anything you want here 
about them being at the beach with whoever is there. 
My next part is ment for *later* on. Tera and Ga'brin 
will sing a few songs to entertained everyone before 
moving off a little ways to be by themselves......:)

*******
While everyone else was still in the water swimming 
and playing around, Tera and Ga'brin were sitting off 
by themselves a ways down the beach. He was sitting 
there silently watching as she ran through a difficult 
cord run. She knew how to play, he thought.  The song 
she had just played was a tricky one. He himself had 
played it many times, but it had taken him years of 
practice to get it down right. He was really going to 
enjoy playing with her on a regular bases, if her run 
through of the song ' Time goes on', was any 
indication of where her talent laid.
 
"Hey! You're staring at me,"  her voice broke into 
his day dreams. "Did I put my makeup on wrong this 
morning, or do I have a smug on my face?" she asked 
amused, a slight blush adding color to her cheeks.

"No smug, and you don't need to wear any makeup," 
he assured her in a voice that was slightly husky, 
his black eyes never leaving her face.

"Then what?" she asked tilting her head to the side
questionably.  Her heart rate sky rocketed when she 
aw the passion in his blacker than sin eyes, he 
didn't even try to hide. The smile left her face, 
as he reached a hand out to caress the side of he 
face. So feather  light was his touch that she 
sighed, wanting more. Her upper body, of it's own 
will leaned towards his, needing the feel of him 
against her. Someone whimpered, and someone gave 
a soft ironic laugh.

"So," she heard him say, his voice sounding far 
away. "You feel this thing between us also? It's 
not just me?" he questioned, black eyes searching 
green eyes. Hoping to read the answer he prayed for.

"No.. yes.. I don't know what I feel," she told 
him in all honesty. "All I do know is I like it 
when you look at me this way. And it makes me feel 
good when you touch me like this. I feel kind of 
funny inside.  I feel things I've never felt 
before, and I want something more, but Idon't 
know what." There where tears forming in eyes as 
she stepped away, out of his reach. He let her go, 
knowing she had to deal with these new feelings 
in her own way.

"I don't understand any of this, " he heard her say as 
he stood behind her. He wanted to put his arms around 
her, comfort her. "From the moment you sat down at my 
table the other morning, all I could think about was 
seeing you again. Somehow I knew you would become 
important to me. It scared me, that I could care so 
much yet at the same time it felt so right."

His heart went out to her. Funny he thought, but he 
himself had felt the same way.

"Life is strange like that sometimes Love," he told 
her coming up behind her, his strong arms so gentle 
as he turned her around to face him. With his hand he 
tilted her face up to look at him. 

"When I woke up this morning I didn't say to myself 
'Ga'brin old boy, This is the morning you are going 
to fall in love." I had no idea that with one look 
into the lovely green eyes of yours, I would feel as 
if I had found that what I had been searching for all 
my life. All I know is now that I've finally found you, 
I don't ever what to let you go," he paused to think 
about the words he wanted to say to her. To make her 
understand how it was for him. 

"I tried to tell myself to give you time, not to rush 
you. I told myself, that you needed time. To get to 
know me, to get understand what being a rider of a 
fighting dragon. You had your talk with Gazella this 
morning..?" he questioned, and went on after a brief 
nod of her head. "I wanted to wait. I tried, but the 
more I was around you, the more sure I was *you* were 
what I was waiting for all this time. You were
the woman I wanted to wake up with every morning." 

Looking into his eyes, Tera could see nothing but a 
sincere honesty she had not found with many others. 
She believed his words had come from his heart. 

"Well?" his smile was loving, "Dare I hope that 
you could ever feel the same way?" he questioned, 
*needing* to know her answer more than anything he 
had ever *wanted* anything in his life.

"I love you," Was all she said. All she needed 
to say.

"Ah Love," he whispered. His hand moved up into 
her hair, holding her steady and covered her mouth 
with his lips. His mouth felt hard, it felt 
demanding, it felt so warm so familiar at the same 
time different from the other kisses he had 
bestowed on her. Their tongues touched and 
twined, and Tera felt the flames of desire rise
within her the way it did whenever she dared  
touch him. She kissed him back, strongly, fiercely, 
hungry for his taste, hungry to imprint everything 
about him in her memory, so that she'd have him 
always....

"Oh Love...." he growled, lifting his mouth 
finally from hers. His fingers brushed back a strand 
of her sunny blond hair that had come lose from her 
braid.

"This isn't a good time or place for this," his voice 
was unsteady.

"I know," she whispered, and reached up to link her 
arms around his neck, pulling her closer. Again and 
again their lips met, each kiss promising more than 
the last. 

Finally he pulled back, and held her clamped tightly 
against his chest so that she couldn't reach up and 
kiss him again. 

" Not here Love," his voice husky as he denied them 
both what they were wanting. "I want it to be perfect 
for you, for us....I want to have the right to wake 
up with you in the morning as my mate, the mother of 
my children."

Tera's head shot up at the sound of *that* word. 
"He's never asked any of them to be his mate .." 
Tahlaya had told her.

"Your mate?" had she heard right?

"And the mother of my children, " a smile turned up 
one side of his mouth. So someone had been talking to 
her about him. For a brief moment he wondered who then 
the thought was gone. 

"Don't answer me right away," he couldn't believe
those words had come out of his mouth, when all he 
wanted to do was fly her up to his apartment right 
now and make love to her over and over, all night 
long. But he had to give her the chance to be sure 
she wanted the samething.

He saw the hurt and confusion in her lovely green 
eyes, "I want you to be sure," he said softly, 
"That it's really what you want. I want you to take 
your time and think about it. If you decide yes, we 
can start looking for an apartment together after 
Sundellath makes her first flight."


Tera didn't need time to think it over. She already 
knew her what her answer would be. 
She was finally home!

*****submitted by:*************
Barbara
(voice of:
Tera & Sundellath
Ga'brin & Preston
Telnor Warren, Dragonlands


npc:
Name:  C'rispen
Age   :  29
Hair   :  Muddy Brown
Height: 6'11"
WT.  : 248 lbs.
Dragon: Purple  "Gushine."

General: Ga'brin's partner in alpha wing for 5 
years, built like a stout tree trunk. Trained as 
a smith...Likeable teddy bear, quick to lose his 
temper, hates wild dragon more that anything, but 
is willing to give a wilder pair the chance to 
prove themselves for the good of the warren. Has 
a mate Dicelly, rider of pink *Sherbert*


Name  : Dicelly
Age     : 31
Hair     : Blond
Height  :6'2"
WT     :( come on now she's a lady ;)
Dragon: Sherbert (yellow, green, and orangeish)