<Caliban>


Cali helped Diana support Minty until Tris, one of the kitchen helpers,
came over and picked the slim girl up,  then stood waiting for Cali to give
him directions.  Assuring Diana that Minty would be well cared for in
Whiteriver's med centre, she led the way out of the dining hall with Tris
and Diana hard on her heels.


*Lute... would you let Areena know that Thorin is needed in the med centre
as soon as possible.*  She asked as she marched towards the distant medical
building.  


*Areena says her rider is with Chrysthal's rider so I asked Chrysthal's to
pass on the message that the healer is needed.*


*Couldn't you just tell Areena.*  Cali asked, puzzled  *Seems a convoluted
way of doing things to me....*


*It's polite.*  Lute said firmly  *The healer will meet you at the med
centre.*


"I've had Lute call for our healer."  Cali told Diana as they walked   "Has
she been ill recently?  She didn't look too good when I was talking to you
both earlier."


"She did say she thought she might have a touch of stomach flu."  Diana
said with a shrug as she jogged along beside the hurrying Tris.


"Well we'll soon find out."  Cali said as she led the way into the med centre.


********
<Minty>


She could feel a cool hand on her head, and hear a gentle murmuring in the
distance.  She felt light and floaty and struggled to resist the pull of
the voices in the background.  She groaned softly as another wave of
sickness washed over her....


"Minty?"  an unknown voice asked  


>Her eyelids fluttered and she looked up at him, "Who .. where am I?"
>
>"This is Whiteriver Warren. And I'm Thorin. You collapsed in the dining
hall."
>
>She nodded her face still pale, "I .. I remember."
>
>"You'll be all right, but you shouldn't put so much strain on yourself." He
>said gently admonishing her, "It's not good for your baby."


"Baby?"  she asked in a whisper, hugging herself tightly to prevent herself
shivering  "Really?"


Thorin smiled at her stunned expression and nodded at her.  It took a few
seconds but she smiled back tentatively and forced herself to relax.  The
shivering that had wracked her moments ago beginning to subside now.


"Are you sure?"  she asked him


"Yes."  he told her  "I'd say you're about 3 months along by the looks of
things.  You should see the healer at Marrid when you get back, and make
sure that you see  her for regular checks.  Is this your first pregnancy?"


Minty shook her head.  "Is everything alright?"  she asked anxiously,  a
hitch in her voice as she thought of the child she and David had lost.  "
Is there something wrong with the baby?  Is that why I fainted?  I kept
fainting last time...."


"Everything's fine as far as I can tell..."  he hastily reassured her "but
see the Marrid healer when you get home and she'll be able to put your mind
at ease.  Rest here for a while before you start back though... I don't
want you falling off your dragon on the way back."  


"Thank you."  Minty gave him a brilliant smile as the news finally sank in.


*A baby Kiri!  We're going to have a baby!*  she was so absorbed in her joy
that she didn't even hear the Whiteriver healer leave the room.  *Oh just
wait until I can tell David.....*


*******
<Caliban - later>


Cali worked with those new riders who weren't otherwise occupied.  She was
covering the same topics that they'd dealt with that morning
mostly....things that couldn't be repeated often enough for the safety of
both the dragonets and their riders.... so she was annoyed that some of the
trainees just hadn't bothered to turn up.


*Some of the hatchlings are missing Cali.*  Lute shifted uncomfortably as
one of the more eager dragonets trod on her tail  


*I already know that Lute."  Cali fumed quietly  *And their riders will
feel the edge of my tongue as soon as I get a chance to talk with them.  I
made it clear that they were to put their dragonets first...*


*Not the dragonets.*  Lute corrected her  *Some of the human hatchlings are
missing.  The warrenlady says that we should organise a search for them.
I've called for some of the riders who aren't;t busy to help us.*


*Great.... Who's missing?*  Cali asked Lute as she called for attention
from the trainees


"I'll expect to see each of your here bright and early tomorrow morning,
ready and willing to learn as much as you can about these fascinating
creatures that now own you."


The trainees snickered at her feeble joke, but nodded their understanding
of her orders.


"And you can inform your errant bunkmates that I'm not at all pleased by
their absence this afternoon and that I expect them to drop everything else
they think might be important until they've finished their training.  OK
dismissed!"


She walked over to Lute as the trainees drifted towards the barracks,
followed by their still stumbling young charges.


*So who's missing Lute?*  she asked again, reaching up to check the saddle
straps were tight and waiting for the others to join her.


*The warrenlady's sibling...*


*Lorilei?*  Cali asked in surprise  *But she knows the warren like the back
of her hand!*


*....and the young human female that came to see the hatching with her
father.*  Lute continued   *And Faith.*


*Faith too.*  Cali looked up at Lute  *In that case I'm not so sure they're
in the warren itself.....*


The search party that Lute had called together hurried up then and she was
kept busy organising the riders into pairs, sending some to search on the
back corridors and little used passages of the warren, and others to search
the surrounding countryside.....


*********
<Faith>



"I want to go back Faith."  Jennifer sniveled quietly, as she picked
herself up from the ground and rubbed at the graze on her knee.  "I'm going
to be in big trouble if I don't go back right now.  My father's going to be
so angry with me."


"We're not stopping you."  Faith said as she continued to search the cliff
face for suitable hand and footholds  "If you want to go back then go.....
Hey Lorilei... do you think you could reach that crack in the rocks if I
boost you?"


Lorilei looked at the crack that Faith was pointing to and shook her head.


"But I don't know the way back on my own."  Jennifer whined  "You'll get us
all in trouble if you're not careful."


"You didn't have to come with us Jennifer."  Lorilei said, an edge to her
voice.  She too was beginning to regret coming on this expedition with
Faith.  She was hungry and dirty and she wanted to go back to the warren.
"No one forced you to come with us."


"I want to go home."  Jennifer said sullenly  "It's getting dark and I'm
hungry and I'm not moving another inch unless it's back towards Whiteriver."


<..>


"We've been walking for hours Faith."  Lorilei shivered in the fine cold
rain that had started falling about an hour before, and pushed her wet hair
away from her face.  "It didn't take this long on the way out here...."


"I want my father."  Jennifer repeated for the umpteenth time  "I'm cold
and frightened and I want my father.!"  


Her voice rose to a thin wail and Faith snorted with disgust at the older
girl's fright.


"It's not my fault we're lost!"  Faith yelled at the other two, angry more
with herself than with them.  "I said we should take the other path when
the trail split back there... but you insisted that it must be this way back."


"Look there's no point us getting angry with each other."  Lorilei linked
arms with her friends and tried to cheer them up.  "Trinale will know that
we're missing by now and she'll have search parties out looking for us.  We
just need to hope they get here before this rain gets too much heavier."


"You're right Lori."  Faith said  "I'm sorry for yelling at you
Jennifer.... truce?"


She held her hand out and after a moment Jennifer took it and the two shook
hands solemnly.


"Truce."  Jennifer said with a weak smile  "But I still want to go home."


"OK... let's go back to where the trail split and try the other path."
Faith said decisively  "If that's not right then we'll have to find a cave
or something to shelter in until it starts getting light."


Arm in arm the three set off, back the way they'd come.....


<..>


"I don't like this."  Lorilei whispered as she groped her way after Faith
into the darkness of the cave that they'd chosen to spend the night in
"It's spooky and damp and I'm cold and hungry."


"It's only for one night."  Faith told her as she pushed deeper into the
cave, trying to escape from the cold wind whistling in from the cave mouth.
 "We won't starve.....argh!"


There was a shower of small pebbles and an echoing cry as Faith's hand was
wrenched from Lorilei's, and she disappeared into the darkness ahead.
Lorilei and Jennifer clutched at each other in fright.


"Faith."  Lorilei's voice quavered as she called softly  "Stop playing
around Faith."


Lorilei held tightly to Jennifer hand as she cautiously stepped forward.
Her questing foot met no resistance.  With a small cry of fright she
plunged forwards dragging a screaming Jennifer into the sinkhole that had
swallowed Faith......


*******
<Daimon>


He sank down on the bench next to Trinale's slumped figure and tried to
think of any other places int he warren that they hadn't already searched.
He could see the worry etched in Trinale's face and he was just about to
reach out to lay a comforting hand on her arm when a trumpeting dragon
erupted into the air.


He heard Trinale's small gasp, and heard her mutter a soft  "Cricket, not
now..."  He turned to look at her, and was surprised to see lust and horror
mingled in her eyes... As she rose from the bench and made her way to the
waiting male riders he realised what was happening.


"What?  What's she doing?"  Lord Fowler spluttered angrily as Trinale
started dancing among the riders of the male dragons  "This isn't the time
for such frivolity... not when my daughter and yours is still missing
somewhere."


Daimon drew the man away from the excited crowd, trying to calm him down
long enough to explain.


"It's a mating flight..."  Daimon began


"It's disgusting!"  Lord Fowler declared hotly  "She's no more than a child
herself and to be behaving in that fashion... well!  Someone should stop it!"


Lord Fowler tried to pull away from Daimon grasp, seeming to be intent on
dragging Trinale away by force if needed.  But Daimon kept a firm grip and
walked rapidly away as he tried, and failed, to convince the man that
Trinale had no control in the matter....


********
<Caliban - much later>


"We've searched every passage and corridor at least twice."  Cali told the
assembled riders  "And they're not in the warren.  We've had riders out
searching the surrounding countryside ever since it was discovered that
they were missing and no one has seen any trace of them at all...."


"Katla and Derry have gone out on horses to search on the ground and
they're keeping in touch via their dragonets.  There isn't really much more
that we can do until it starts getting light...."


"They've been found Cali.  Satinka just told me that her rider has found
them.* 


All around the dining hall she could see the rides relaxing as their
dragons relayed the good news.  Daimon cocked a puzzled eyebrow at the
palpable relief and Cali quickly explained what had happened.  He visibly
relaxed when he heard the news, and Cali thought for a moment that she
caught the sheen of tears in his eyes... 


*******
<Faith>


Her head hurt and the sound of crying was irritating.  She tried to move,
tried to escape for the monotonous sound of someone weeping in despair.
She groaned as a sharp pain shot through her right leg and left shoulder.


"Faith?  Are you awake?"  a small miserable voice asked her  "Please say
something Faith?"


"Lorilei?  Jennifer?  Where are we?"  her tongue felt thick and awkward in
her mouth, making her words difficult to understand.  


"We thought you were dead!"  Lorilei gave a sob of relief and hugged her
tightly when she tried to sit up


>From overhead there was the sound of footsteps and voices and the girls
froze instantly.  An familiar voice called their names


"We're down here!" they yelled back excitedly  "Be careful up there..... we
fell into a pit or something"


A faint light appeared high above them and they looked up into the relived
faces Katla and Derry.  They'd been found... but they still had to be
rescued from the pit they'd fallen into.....


Submitted by

Caliban & Lute
Daimon & child











-- 
Mint,  the voice and soul of

Timi Caplain  FO   USS Javelin       T'Beth  CMO/Coun  USS Magellan
Lillith the Mage     Broken Lands     Minty, Kirimith's rider  Dragon Lands 
                          Caliban, Lute's human       Dragon Lands  
Naomi, QueenRider to Amethyst, Norwall's WarrenLady,  Dragon Lands

http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/5902
http://www.dragonfire.net/~Mint/