[Derry]

"Don't think about it now, just relax." Derry held her, trying to release
the tension in her. As he felt it start to ease slightly, he had to ask a
question that had been nagging him. "By the way, did you mean what you
said earlier?"

Trinale was drifting off to sleep and barely heard the question. "Hmmmm?"

"Did you mean what you said about caring for me? About maybe....." Derry
suddenly noticed that Trinale was breathing easily and regularly. Damn it,
she was asleep!  He looked down into her face, young and luminescent in the
moonlight.  Levka prodded at the back of his mind, and Derry almost started
up, ashamed to have neglected his dragon's requests for reassurance.

<Levka? Are you alright?>

<Yes, I am cuddling with Doshayne and her rider.>

<Would you be alright if I stay with Trinale?>

<I am fine> the sleepy voice answered. <Just be here in the morning to
feed me!>

Derry chuckled and settled onto the grass, laying Trinale down with him.
She stirred slightly and snuggled closer. He sighed. It was going to be a
long night... and he had a lot to think about...

He wanted to believe that she had turned to him because she wanted him, but
a wiser, more cynical part of him felt that she'd simply been using him as a
sheild.  She'd been angry, confused, and afraid... and if he loved her, he
couldn't hold her to words, but...

She felt so warm, comfortable -- so right in his arms...

Derry mused about sheilds -- and honor... and slowly fell asleep.

<...>

Hungry...  he was hungry...  His stomach started to growl and Derry woke
suddenly to a deafening yowl in his head.  He sat up abruptly, eyes wide.

<Wake up!!!  I'm starving!!!!>

"Levka?"  He looked down at Trinale, wishing, desperately, that he could
talk to her, but he could *feel* Levka's hunger pangs...  "Levka's hungry."

Trinale laughed, understanding lighting her eyes.  "Go feed your dragon.
We'll talk later, okay?"

Derry nodded, and almost sprinted back to the hatchling barracks.  Levka was
hungry, and Derry was glad that he'd already ruined his doublet and hose by
sleeping outside, so he wouldn't need to take them off before feeding his
wonderful -- if now impatient -- dragon.

<How can you think of those silly coverings you wear?  I'm hungry!!!!!
Katla is already feeding 'Tinka!>

Derry burst into the room and Chance gave him a questioning look as she took
in his state of disarray.  He gave her a brief hug as he grabbed a bucket of
meat.  "I'll tell you later."

She grinned at him.  "You'd better!"

He laughed as he started shoving meat in Levka's direction.  The verdigris
dragon glared at him before nibbling delicately at the proffered food.

<..>

Derry watched as Pa'gan offered his life to Trinale to make up for the
insult... all the while insulting the Warren and it's way of life.  Derry
shook his head, though Trinale's final reaction filled him with pride.
*That* was the inner strength that had drawn him...

<...>

It took a while for the crowd to start drifting away, everyone had their
own opinions to add to the general discussion, but finally they started
leaving.  As the area cleared, Cali could see that only the newly-joined
from the previous day were left standing chattering in a group, and she
hurried over to them to greet them and introduce herself.


"Hi.  Most of you already know me... but for those who don't I'm Caliban
and I'm going to be showing you how to care for your new dragonets."  she
told them


"But I thought Kyrine was trainer?"  one of the older Warren bred riders said


"He's sick, so you get me instead."  Cali grinned  "I don't bite and I'm
not a hard task-master.  Just take notice and follow what I say and we'll
get along just fine.  Now first things first... The most important thing in
your life as of this moment is your dragon....."


She looked around at the young men and women in front of her, and smiled at
the almost identical looks of pride and love on each of their faces.


"So can anyone tell me the most important thing in their dragonets life
right now?" she asked them with a smile


"Us?"  someone offered tentatively


"Nope."  she laughed as she shook her head  "Their stomachs."


The trainees grinned, remembering the raging appetite each of their dragons
had already displayed.


"At this stage they're really only stomachs on legs."  She gathered the
trainees up and started to lead them back to the hatchlings barracks  "And
right now how many of you are getting hunger signals from them?"  Half a
dozen hands shot up. "You'll find that all they'll want to do for the first
few days is eat, sleep and grow....."


"Cocquyt is already twice the size he was when he was hatched."  A sandy
haired boy said as they reached the barracks.    She pushed open the doors
and the keening hunger calls of newly hatched dragonets could be heard.
The trainees quickly scattered to feed and soothe their charges, with
instructions to present themselves and their dragons on the training field
in half and hour.

Derry concentrated on bathing and oiling Levka, though he kept an eye out
for Katla, who was having some difficulty staying on her feet long enough to
do what was needed.  Without warning, her knees buckled, and she fell to her
knees next to Satinka.

----
[Katla]

<Chance, what's wrong?>  'Tinka was frantic.

Pain lanced up Katla's back, but she managed to smile and hug her dragon.
<Nothing, love.  Just my legs.  We're going to have to find another way to
do this...  I can't stand long enough to oil you now, when you're full grown
it'll be truely impossible.>

"Are you alright?"  Chance looked up into Nalins eyes and shrugged.

[Tag, Bridget]

Respectfully Submitted,
Jill E. Flansburg
Lekvka, Satinka and their humans :)





=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
			Vasaris, the Fuzzy Dragon
 Jill E. Flansburg                  |           vasaris@az.com
 CS HMC 1994                        |           jflansbu@muddcs.cs.hmc.edu
 History, WWU 199?                  |           vasaris@divcom.umop-ap.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                                  XFRPG
 Assistant Director, X-Files        |          Agent Sterling Kincaid, SA1
 Agent X. Xavier, Trainer 1         |         Agent Damien Cunningham, SA5
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
                               DragonLands
 Elswyth and Aedra, Keldarra        |                     Relyth, Keldarra
 Katla and Derric, WhiteRiver       |                        Zera, Norwall
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=