[DL-T/K]  Twilight Reunion

* * * * * * * * * *

[Keldarra green, early afternoon; day 5 (Telnor)/day 3 (Keldarra)]


After they had landed and seen to Warton's comfort, Ada surprised Eth'n by 
heading toward Keldarra's Searchling barracks.  He stepped quickly to catch 
up, a note of puzzlement creeping into his voice.  "I know you're probably 
interested in seeing some of your previous acquaintances, but... shouldn't 
we deliver this message to one of the resident queenriders first?"

Ada flashed him a tight smile.  "Just getting a feel for the situation here, 
first," she replied.  "Something's been bothering me, and on the flight here 
I finally realized what.  As the rumor mill had things just before I left 
Keldarra, K'drik and the warrenlord here had a - relationship, or a fling, 
or something.  Then K'drik went off on some strange errand and disappeared.  
When pressed for answers by K'drik's sister, D'neor suggested that she write 
to *me* at Telnor on the off chance K'drik might turn up there.  Strange 
search strategy, especially for someone he might have had some sort of 
feelings for."  Dropping her volume so that no one but Eth'n could hear, she 
added, "I'm starting to wonder if D'neor really *wants* K'drik to be found."

Eth'n stared at her aghast, but said nothing.  It was a horrible thought, 
but stranger things had been known to happen, especially in the context of a 
relationship gone sour.  "You think it's a wild goose chase," he said after 
they had walked a while in silence.

"The thought *had* occurred to me," Ada murmured.

"You're forgetting something - young Konrad saw, or at least claims to have 
seen, which way K'drik went when he left.  So K'drik made it at least that 
far from Keldarra without mishap."  He frowned.  "Though it does seem odd 
that he was flying overland rather than just teleporting wherever he was 
headed..."

"Foolish, that," Ada agreed quietly, chagrined by the memory of her own 
cross-country flight from Keldarra to Telnor.  Her gaze seemed far away for 
a moment, but then she shook her head as though to clear it.  "In any case, 
I'll want to talk to the sister who sent me the letter first."


* * * * * * * * * *


They found Kendra surrounded by garments in various stages of completion.  
After Ada made introductions, the three of them went to the dining hall to 
partake of a late lunch.

"The little rat," she laughed ruefully after being told how her younger 
brother had tried to bargain with the dragonriders.  "The nerve, to think he 
could bully his way to what he wanted...  someone will have their hands full 
with him.  Tanda, too, come to think of it."  Her laughter faded and her 
expression grew serious.  "But, really...  he said he saw Ked & his dragon, 
but refused to tell about it?"  She looked angry.  "I'll have his worthless 
hide for a pincushion, if I get my hands on him."

"I'll help," offered Ada conspiratorially.  "Seriously, though...  the 
situation concerns me.  Do you think the warrenlord can be trusted, in this 
matter?"  She bit her lower, hoping she wouldn't have to explain her 
thinking...

"D'neor?" Kendra asked.  "Oh, he's full of bluster... and he *did* give me 
the run-around, at first, but..."

"But?"  Eth'n prompted.

"...it wasn't like he didn't care about Ked.  It was more like... there were 
painful truths he didn't want to admit.  To himself, or to me."  Her 
expression wavered.  "Didn't want to admit that Ked might be-"

"Enough of that," Ada said.  "If he is, he is, but if not, there's hope, so 
stop dwelling on all the 'ifs'.  They aren't helping a bit."

Kendra shrugged.  "In any case, D'neor *said* he'd been looking for word of 
Ked's whereabouts, but none of his messengers have turned up anything.  I 
think he asked me to write to you as much to give me something to do as to 
actually accomplish anything," she admitted.  "The fact that you *are* here 
is frankly a surprise... I hope your presence here is a good omen."

"So you think D'neor's done his part to help find K'drik, then?" Eth'n asked 
with a sidelong glance at Ada.

Kendra nodded.  "As best he can, given the situation.  At first I wanted him 
to scour the countryside with every available rider, but he pointed out the 
futility of just combing the wilderness with no idea of where to look first. 
  Not to mention all the other strangeness going on!  Apparently someone was 
murdered not that long ago, and some rider just got arrested and is going to 
be put on trial.  So he's doing what he can, for someone who has his hands 
full at the moment."  She toyed with the head of a straight pin embedded in 
the strap of her apron.  "Hopefully the new clothes I am making for him will 
make *his* job a little easier."

Ada exchanged a look with Eth'n.  Kendra did not seem gullible, and she 
seemed to trust D'neor's intentions - at least well enough to give him the 
benefit of the doubt.  Plus, if there had truly been murder and other 
mayhem, the warrenlord *would* be busy dealing with the consequences.  Ada 
was relieved to realize her suspicions were probably groundless.  "That 
being the case," she said with a slight nod toward Eth'n, "we had best get 
our message delivered."


[optional tag - Mia, I'm assuming you're still on hiatus, but if you want to 
build the talk between Ada, Eth'n, and D'neor into a post, more power to 
you.  I can fill you in on the gist of the message.  Otherwise, I'm just 
going to assume their chat happens 'off-stage', so to speak...]


* * * * * * * * * *


After speaking with the warrenlord, Ada and Eth'n split up to mingle among 
the riders and other warren folk, learning more about the events that had 
transpired in recent months.  The events Kendra had mentioned - plus an 
accidental injury to a child, not far from where the murder victim's body 
had been found - had put most of the residents on edge.  Eth'n noticed some 
of the younger, newer riders glaring at him as if wary of the possible 
intentions of an unfamiliar rider, but the more established riders 
recognized him from previous visits and welcomed him.  Ada felt herself 
being followed at some point, but when she whirled to confront the spy, she 
saw nothing more than a momentary blur in the corner of her eye.  The mood 
of the place was getting to her, too.

It was evening by the time they conferred with one another and with Warton, 
who had been getting the draconic perspective on the local happenings all 
the while.  The three of them were preparing for the return trip when Ada 
sighed.

"I had a friend here," she explained when Eth'n inquired.  "I was hoping to 
meet her before we left, but I haven't seen her all day."

"There will be other visits," Eth'n reminded her kindly as they spiraled up 
into the sky.

Just as Warton was preparing to visualize the coordinates for Telnor, Ada 
cried out, "Wait!  Look there!"  They turned in mid-air and passed over the 
area she had indicated, a crumbling collection of boulders at the base of a 
hill a short distance from the warren.

"I don't see anything," Eth'n told her, even as he sought to query any 
dragons that might be nearby.  There were none - at least, none inclined to 
reply, it seemed.

"I thought I saw a flash of white in the darkness," Ada assured him.  "But 
it seems to be - oh!  There, again!  Let's land, please!"

As they landed near the rockfall, Eth'n could make out what Ada had seen... 
a pale young woman, wrapped in a dark cloak that all but concealed her in 
the deepening twilight.  The girl must have adjusted the cloak at some 
point, allowing Ada to see a flash of pale skin as the girl's face or arms 
had been momentarily exposed.

Ada practically vaulted from her seat as Warton landed, throwing herself at 
the cloaked figure.  "Fabrice!   Fabrice, it's me, Ada!  It's so good to see 
you..."

[tag, Carina!   What's Fabrice's reaction, under the circumstances?]


* * * * * * * * * *

Respectfully submitted,

     Dave Lankford
         Ada & Xye, Telnor
         Kendra, Keldarra

with special thanks to Arlene Jacobs for
letting me borrow Eth'n & Warton again.  [;-{)}


_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com

Return to Keldarra Posts for May 2001