>"Uhmmm... err... miss?" he gasped between every breath.

Lyonnia ignored him, instead raining kisses all over his face. Her hand
snuck into his shirt and began feeling around in there.

>"I.. uhh... I don't suppose we've met." he continued through her series
>of kisses.

Lyonnia, totally lost in her dragon's sensation and unable to stop it,
continued her assault, not fully realizing that she was being rebuffed.

>"I'm Gabriel... rider of... of..." He groaned slightly, cutting off what he
said.

>"No!" he pushed her away gently, but firmly.

<Nia?> she heard Dianthus' voice come through her mind link. <Nia, he left.>

*What?* Lyonnia thought, stopping her attempts to get back at the man. Like
he was going to let her anyway. *What do you mean, he left?*


***Dianthus***

>Dianthus looked at Veil suspicously. <Will you not take me?> she asked
>again.
>
><No... now go. Leave me. I do not require your... sssservice.> he
>chuckled evilly.

Dianthus stared incredulously at the black dragon. Never had she heard of a
male dragon refusing to mate! However repulsive he was, both mentally and
physically, her body still longed for him. She needed him.

The look in his eyes, however, cooled off her ardor somewhat. They
practically eminated evil, so much so she shrank back from them. Suddenly,
she was glad she hadn't gone through with this; no matter what her body had
told her, nor told her still, she got up, leaped into the air and headed for
the warren.  Her body still racking with mating urges, she called somewhat
pitiously <Nia?>


***Lyonnia***

"You beast!" Lyonnia screamed at the man in front of her, then attacked him
as best she could. Kicking and scratching, she tried to get a good punch in
but he was too strong and held her far away.

He looked absolutely perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"You're an animal!" she told him fiercly, lashing out with a kick but
missing. "Your dragon just left my dragon all alone, making her have to deal
with..." She trailed off because she felt exactly the same way towards the
man in front of her; wanting him yet hating him.  With a fierce wrench, she
jerked herself out of the man's grasp and said bitingly, "Riders are always
just like their dragons, and if that's the case here, LEAVE ME ALONE!" The
last part was shouted, causing not a few looks from those around. Then,
livid (and still shamefully wanting him), she turned around and stalked off.

*Di, where are you?* she called to her dragon.

<I'm on my way to the warren right now> the dragon replied. A pause, then
<Nia, he rejected me.>

*He didn't deserve you. He just got lucky. Him and his stupid rider.*

<Nia, it hurts....>

Lyonnia could feel what her dragon felt; the frustration, both mental and
sexual. A part of her wish she'd go back to the man; the irrational part,
she reasoned. *Can you come and get me?*

<Yes, I can....can you meet me behind the dining hall?>

*Sure, I'll be there.* Still sensing her dragon's desire, she sympathized
with the young female dragon. *There'll be other times, I promise. It's not
like this.*  She crossed the dining hall and headed to the back.

<I hope not> Dianthus answered as she landed in front of Lyonnia. <If it is,
I'm never doing it again.>

Laughing, Lyonnia thought *I sincerely doubt that.  Now, let's go to the
apartment and wait awhile. It'll fade.* Hopefully.

**A couple hours later**

"Feel better now?" she asked Dianthus.

<A little bit. Now I just don't want to mate with that dragon. Any other
dragon would do though...>

"You could rise to mate again," Lyonnia began.

<And face utter humiliation! I'd be the 'talk of the warren'!> 

Lyonnia laughed at the mock indignation in her dragon's voice, but she
agreed with the thought. "I suppose it's partially true." Her face clouded.
"That dragon and rider are so....so...." She couldn't think of anything to
say, but Dianthus caught the drift from her thoughts.

<I don't know about that> the dragon told her rider. <This was the group
H'nry had told us about earlier. You know, the one in which the pair are
complete opposites.>

"Well, I can't believe that" Lyonnia thought stubbornly, kicking a shoe in
her path and plopping down in a chair. "Riders and their dragon's almost
always have the same personalities. It's what attracts them. You know that."

<Don't you remember what you were like before we joined? Shy, lonesome,
reclusive? Do you ever remember me being like that?>

"Well, no..."

<It's not always the case then.>

"But I'm just like you now! Your personality was always in me; it just took
a while to come out. How can we know whether that.....evil dragon's
personality is in the man?"

<We don't know, but we shouldn't judge.>

Lyonnia sighed and stood back up. "So I should apologize."

<That's a start, certainly.>

"A start? What else can I do?"

<Maybe be a friend. Maybe not> she added when Lyonnia started to protest
<but remember he's new to the warren, probably doesn't know many people.
Just try to understand him.>

"And stay away from his dragon."

<And stay away from his dragon!> Dianthus agreed emphatically.

Lyonnia shuddered as she remembered the dragon. "Don't worry about *that*
part. That's a promise I'll keep." She looked around and grabbed her shoes
from the floor. Placing them on her feet, she stated, "Well, might as well
start now."

Dianthus crouched to the ground and Lyonnia mounted. Within minutes, they
were back on the ground.

Finding the man was easy; he was in the first place she looked, the Dining
Hall. H'nry and Retala were with him, however; she thought about talking
with him later, but steeled herself and approached the trio.

"Hey Nia," H'nry greeted her, smiling.  "Care to join us?"

"Sure, but I kind of need to talk to..." She paused for a moment, trying to
remember his name. He'd told her before, when they had been....ah yes. "I
need to talk to Gabriel for a minute."

"No problem, I was just on my way out." He stood up, followed by Retala.
"I'm sure you two have a couple things to talk about."

She darted a quick glance at her partner; did the whole warren know
already?! Or had Gabriel told H'nry while they'd talked. "I'm sure we do,"
she said.

After the two of them had left, Lyonnia sat down at the table across from
Gabriel. "Listen, I just wanted to say I was sorry for what I said earlier."

"There's nothing to be sorry about," he began.

"No, there is," Lyonnia stated, interrupting him. "I was kind of prejudiced
against you, what with what your dragon did to mine. And rightfully so, in
my opinion. I always thought that dragon/rider pairs had the same
personality. As a matter of fact, yours is the first I've ever seen to
dispute that claim. H'nry himself told me that you are complete opposites,
but I couldn't believe that then. I'm willing to believe it now; I hope it's
the truth. Oh, and by the way," she held out her hand, "I'm Lyonnia."

"Pleased to meet you," the blond man in front of her said, taking her hand
and kissing the back in a gallant gesture. A twinge of apprehension that
this was a trick flared in Lyonnia's mind, but she stamped it down.

***Tag Kha. :>***

Submitted by
The Dragon Queen
Lyonnia/Dianthus of Telnor warren