Nrpg: I went ahead and used Ga'brin and C'rispen in this post 
because Kat had asked me the other day to allow her time to catch 
up. Also because I couldn't come up with a reason Trap and Danielle would
even be out there. Also because Lenna knows Ga'brin. I figured 
since Lenna was already in Telnor's domain I use her too... to keep
her away from Cleft just a little longer :)
-----------------------------------------------------------

Lenna
*******

<Lenna wake up!!!>

Something in the lavender's tone brought her rider fully awake 
instantly. For a moment after waking, Lenna was slightly confused. 
She couldn't remember where she was. Then it all came sliding back 
into her mind.

The Queen's mating fight. Rook winning and her watching as the man 
she loved carried off the other woman. 

<We've no time for that now!> Blanchie informed her. <We need to 
hurry and go.>

<<I'm not ready to go back there!!>> Lenna cried. <<I can't face 
him yet.>>

<This isn't about that,> her dragon's told was slightly scolding. 
<I hear a dragon calling out for help. I know this dragon. It's 
Sabbith from where we used to live. We must find him.>

<<Sabbith... Kay's red dragon?>> Lenna felt her concern growing. 
<<Why would he be calling for help? Where's his rider?>>

<I can not tell you that. I just know we must hurry. His call is 
getting weaker as we speak.>

Lenna rose up from the hollow where she'd fallen asleep quickly some 
of her dragon's urgency began to rub off on her. Mounting, she gave 
the beast the order to begin the search for the red. Something was 
wrong. Kay would never leave his dragon like this. Not unless he was injured
or....

------------

It didn't take long for Blanchie to locate him. Landing near by. 
Lenna was off her dragon and running towards the red. 

<<Blanchie...try talking to him. See if you can find out what 
happened and where his rider is?>>

She took note that the brilliant red coloring of the dragon she'd 
know from Telnor, was dull. The dragons skin when she ran her hands 
over it was cool to the touch. Almost clammy. His breathing sounded labored,
causing her worries to increase.

<<Blanchie!!!! Anything!!!>>

<He doesn't make any sense, and is tone is growing weak.>

<<Damn!!!>> she swore. << We've got to get help. Can you sent out 
an alert and find out if there's anyone patrolling this area?>>

Something was definitely wrong. How had the dragon come to be in 
this condition? Where was his rider? Lenna had never known Kay to 
neglect his friend before, so the thought never even entered her 
mind.

While waiting she began to take a closer look at the red. He didn't 
look good at all. It was obvious that he had eaten... Could it have 
been tainted meat? Or... something in the meat. But why? 

Minutes went by before Blanchie sent her word that riders from Telnor 
were on their way.

<Preston and Gushine will be here soon.>

Tera & Ga'brin
***************

Tera was smiling warmly as she watched her mate escort their last 
visitor of the night out of the door of her room at the med center. 

It had felt so nice to have all her friends and people she had come 
to care about come by to see her son and wish them well. But right 
now all she wanted to do was sleep. It had been a long day and that combined
with going through the worries over Trebrin being born early, 
had left her worn out.

Her green eyes met those of her mates when he had a last closed the 
door behind him and came back to her. Picking up her hand and bring 
it up to his lips, he places a feather light kiss in her palm.

"He's beautiful. This little son of ours," he said warmly, placing 
her hand back onto the bed. "I never knew...."

Tera smiled back, then her eyes moved back to glance at the baby 
sleeping so trustingly in her arms. "I know what you mean."

"Here...let me put him in his bassinet," he reached for his son and 
took him from his mothers arm.  Treb moved a little but didn't wake 
as he was transfered.

"You need your rest now love."

"And you need to go outside and tell C'rispen that you will be 
meeting him for your patrol."

"Love C'risp can find another rider to go with him tonight," Ga'brin 
told her. He wasn't about to leave her side this night.

"Love... " she countered. "I'm just going to go to sleep. There's no 
reason that you need to be here watching me sleep. Go on with you."

"Tera.. I just don't feel right about leaving you.. what if something 
were to happen while I was gone?"

"Then your mother would be here to take care of it," the woman herself
informed him as she came into the room. "That's what they pay me for 
around here you know."

"Still...." he hesitated. 

"I'll be fine!" Tera laughed and then tuned to her mates mother. "Was Gabben
this bad when Ga'brin was born?"

"No..." Sarrine gave a crocked smile. "He went off to the dining hall 
to toasted his son's birth with anyone who would drink with him."

"See love. Now go. I really wish you would," she told him. "I would 
like a little time to myself for a while. All those visitors... "

The black-headed man looked from his mate to his mother, neither 
looked concerned and both had told him to go... well not in so many 
words.

"Well if you're sure...."

"You've your duties to the Warren love, and you did switch with 
K'leith so you could be here this morning... so go on. I'll be fine," 
she assured him. "I plan on getting as much sleep tonight as your son allows
me."

--------------

"Kicked you out already has she?" The giant of a man asked as Ga'brin 
met his patrol partner out near their dragons.... "And the babe just 
born."

"Women..." Ga'brin laughed. "You can't figure them out, but you got 
to love them anyway. Let's go."

Lenna
***********

She was waiting next to the red when the other two landed. Glad that 
she recognized the two men, she raced forward to tell them what she 
had found and then she knew she had shocked them when she told them 
she suspected the red had been poisoned.

"Poisoned!! How can you be sure?" Ga'brin asked her when she'd 
finished her story.

"It's the only thing that makes any sense," she told them. "For one 
thing I don't think Kay would have taken his dragon out if he knew he 
was sick... and another thing... I can't find Kay anywhere. Blanchie 
can't hear him either, and I found this while I was waiting for you."

She should them the ewe she had had Blanchie run down for her, (after
warning the lavender not to allow any part of the beast to touch her mouth.)

"Get close enough and you can smell it," she told them and they did. 
"I don't know what was used, but I don't have enough training on the 
inside of dragons to do much good. We need a dragonhealer here, and 
fast."

"Abby!!" Ga'brin said and was then racing towards his blue. Seconds 
later he was in the air and then gone as he teleported away.

It seemed like hours until they caught sight of the blue popping back 
into the air above them. But only minutes had passed. As Preston 
landed, C'rispen was by his side to help the dark-headed girl, Lenna
remembered as being a healer. Both to human's and dragons.

The girl came running up to Lenna standing there next to Sabbith and started
asking question as she began looking him over. Lenna told her 
about what she had found and told her of how she suspected poisoning.

"What I can't figure out is why someone would do this to a dragon," 
she said. "Or has something happened around here since I moved to the 
Cleft that I don't know about?"

The men stepped back and watched as the two women worked on Sabbith. 
Abby as the more experienced of the two giving the orders and Lenna
following them. For a while at least as night grew darker, she didn't 
once think About the problems she had to face when she finally made 
it back to Cleft Warren....and B'rand.

Sometime later Abby walked over to stand before her brother, he could 
tell things weren't going as well as they should.

"I don't know how we can do it, but we need to get Sabbith back to 
the Warren for better treatment," she told them. "I want him away 
from here and where we can keep a better eye on him."

"Were you able to hear anything from him at all?" Ga'brin asked, 
knowing of the talent his sister had for being able to hear an 
injured dragon while treating them. It was the only time his sister 
could.

"Only something about him not being able to talk to his rider," she 
said and glanced back at the red. "He was there and then he wasn't 
and Sabbith can't find him now. Ga'brin I'm worried. I've done 
everything I could think of, given his something that should purge 
this type of poison from his system, but we don't know how long it 
was since he ate so I don't know how much help it'll be. We have got 
to get him back to the Warren."

And I have to be getting back to Cleft. Lenna thought sadly as she 
watched the others. She knew she was going to catch hell when she 
got back. And it would be well deserved. She'd acted like a child 
and wouldn't be at all surprised if B'rand treated her as such when 
she returned.

Suddenly that was where she wanted to be. Home. With Brand. Nothing 
else mattered. She needed to be with him. She needed him.

"Lenna... I asked if you were going to fly back to Telnor with us," 
Ga'brin was asking for the second time. "We're about ready to try 
this thing."

She looked around and saw other dragons and their riders milling 
around setting up some type of a heavy duty tarp. A dragon sling? 
She wondered at the same time she wondered where the others had come 
from and how she could have failed to hear them land. Much less see 
them.

<Your mind was where your heart knows you wish to be.> her dragons 
thoughts entered her mind. <We should go home now.>

Yes. She need to go home.

"Sorry Ga'brin, but I think I'll pass," she apologized. "I've been 
gone longer than I should have been and their are those who might.. 
be worrying about where I am."

At least she prayed it was so.

"Fly safe."

"Thank you," she replied. "And please. Let me know if you find Kay 
and how Sabbith is doing when you make your next trip to the Cleft."

She mounted Blanchie seconds later and they were soon back in the 
skies over Cleft Warren. 

The door to her apartment was open and a light could be seen coming 
from inside. Someone was here. Slowly after dismounting and relieving 
the lavender dragon of her riding saddle, Lenna finally turned and 
started inside.

He was there, sitting on her couch waiting for her. Their eyes met 
as he stood up and came towards her.

"I was worried about..."

"I was acting like a ...." 

They both started speaking at the same time. 

"Lenna.."

"B'rand...."

Then she put her hand on his arm and could have rejoiced when he 
didn't pull it away from her touch.

"Please love, I need to tell you."

"I know Lenna, Lonnie told me. I was a mating flight love. Rook 
just took off and there was nothing I could do to stop him. But 
that was all it was."

"Are you sure?" she could have kicked herself them moment the words 
slipped out. But she had to know. 

"Damn it woman, I'm here aren't I?"

"And it's a good thing you were handsome," she threw at him as she 
walked past him on the way into her bed room. Inside her heart 
swelled with love for him. 

"Oh!! and why is that," he asked following her.

"Because if you hadn't have been," she smiled a little to sweetly. 
"You wouldn't have had to worry about wraiths and rouge dragons 
getting you.... I would have killed you myself."

****Submitted by: ****************

Barbara (a.k.a.

Cleft Warren
Lenna & Blanchie of 
*
Telnor Warren
Tera & Sundellath 
Ga'brin & Preston
Abby, Dragonhealer 

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