** Tilharnon, the healer Corra's house/office, early afternoon **

The petite redhead was sorting the herbs smiling to herself. She wore a red
and black checked flannel shirt and a bright pink skirt. An ornate dagger
was strapped to her belt. She'd had it since she was born, though she was
no fighter. She looked up as a servant girl came running in. 

"Corra, Corra!" the servant girl called excitedly.

"What?" the redhead asked simply.

"Corra, where is she?"

"Surgery," the redhead replied.

The servant girl looked annoyed, and regarded the girl warily. She didn't
trust her, with her wild light blue eyes, like those of a winter wolf. She
looked nervously at the ornate dagger the redhead wore hanging from her
belt. The strange girl never took it off, save to sleep. She'd never heard
of her using it on anyone, but as strange as this one was she didn't trust
her.

"Damn! Xanthia, I need you to come with me to Lord Wollstone's. Moira's
baby, it's coming!"

Xanthia nodded and gathered up a healer's bag, then ran off in the
direction of Lord Wollstone's estate. 

******

** Lord Weston Wollstone's estate **

Xanthia arrived, red faced and hair tousled from the run, and barged in
without knocking "Xanthia, learn to knock!" Lord Wollstone reprimanded her.

"Sorry, Weston" she flinched, "Moira's baby." She looked about uncertainly.

The tall man sighed, would the girl never learn to use proper titles?  

"Titles, Xanthia..." he reminded her. His voice was that of measured patience.

She shook her head, "Sorry, Lord Weston. The baby?"

He chuckled, "Close enough! Go down to the servants's quarters by the
kitchen, you know where it is. Moira is down there."

******

** Down in the servant's quarter's, late afternoon/early evening **

"Push!" Xanthia ordered.

"I am..." Moira whimpered exhaustedly.

"Push or I will," Xanthia said. She was determined for this baby to be born
alive and well, and it was wanting out now.

Moira gave one final push, cursing the young healer and the father of the
child all at once under her breath as she did so.

Xanthia caught the infant deftly, and he wailed as soon as he hit her
hands. She tied off, cut the cord, and wiped the baby clean before bundling
him in a blanket and handing him to his mother.

"Boy," she told Moira, handing the infant off to her. Xanthia smiled to
herself, pleased with a job well done. She turn and washed her hands, then
gathered her things to head back home.

******

She skipped instead of walked as she went back to the front door, the same
way she came in. She opened it and stepped out to see two huge dragons
sitting in the lawn. She stopped dead in her tracks, admiring the beasts.

<Beautiful...> she thought.

<<Why thank you,>> two voices rang in her head in unison.

<What, who???>

<Your telepathic, only telepaths can talk to dragons,> one of the voices
explained. It seemed to come from the one who was metallic purple. <I am
Chrysthal.>

<And I am Lute,> the second voice said, it came from the cream colored dragon.

<Do you bite?> Xanthia thought. Talking to dragons was so easy, she
couldn't imagine everyone not being able to do it.

<No, not usually,> Lute said.

<It isn't nice,> Chrysthal added.

<You can come closer, your can pet us if you want,> Lute told her.

<You know you want to,> Chrysthal encouraged.

Xanthia slowly approached the dragons, and touched them each in turn. They
were unbelievably soft for being such gigantic beasts. She wanted to keep
petting them forever, and the two dragons didn't seem to mind a bit.

******

** Later that evening **

Xanthia had lost track of time, she had no idea how long she had been
stroking and talking to the dragons, and without her noticing the sun set
over Tilharnon. 

The dragons liked Xanthia, and talking to her about their lives at the
warren. They made such nice mind pictures, and complimented Xanthia on her
ability to think in pictures with ease.

Likewise, Xanthia liked the dragons. This was the longest conversation
she'd ever had with anyone, well any human anyway. And unlike humans, these
dragons didn't judge her or put her down. It was nice.

Suddenly Xanthia heard a third voice in her mind, <Aradia!>

Xanthia spun in the direction of the voice and saw a young red haired
woman, taller than herself and with short curly hair, crumple and a
gentleman she'd never seen before catch her. There were two other women
with the collapsed woman, too, and Lord Wollstone was there as well. 

Xanthia, healer bag in hand, rushed toward the scene before her. "Lay her
down, put her feet up," she told the man holding the unconscious redhead.

"Wait, who are you?" the woman with black hair with one red streak asked,
flustered.

"Xanthia."

The two women looked at each other askance, and stood protectively between
the collapsed woman and Xanthia.

"I'm a healer. Let me work."

"You don't look like a healer," the one with black hair save for one red
streak said.

"I am. Lord Weston, tell them."

"Wollstone, Lord Weston Wollstone," the lord corrected, turning his
attention to Xanthia. He'd been distracted by having one of his guests fall
in a faint in his care.

"Tell them!" Xanthia demanded, irked at being kept from doing her job.

The woman with long brown hair looked quizzically at Lord Wollstone, "Is
she telling the truth?"

"Yes, her name is Xanthia, and she is a healer. Corra, our local healer,
raised her after some of those Bear nomads came and left her here. Her
mother died in childbirth, poor dear. She's not quite right," he pointed at
his head, "but she is intelligent and a very good healer. She won't hurt
Trinale."

The two backed off and Xanthia felt for a pulse. Satisfied it was no more
than a faint, she fished in her bag for smelling salts, and waved the open
bottle under the patient's nose.

The young woman coughed as she came out of her faint, pushing away the
bottle of vile salts. She stared at Xanthia  uncertainly.

<I am Xanthia,> the healer answered the unspoken question telepathically.
"Who is Aradia?" she asked aloud.

******

NRPG: Tag Kat, James, Les, and Arlene! It's good to be back!
                \=/,         _-===-_-====-_-===-_-==========-_-====-_
                |  @___oo   (    Submitted by:                        )
      /\  /\   / (___,,,}_--=    Jacqueline "Morgan" Allgood          )
     ) /^\) ^\/ _)        =__                                          )
     )   /^\/   _)          (_                                         )
     )   _ /  / _)            (      Danika/Kalindeth of Daere        )
 /\  )/\/ ||  | )_)            (_    Xanthia of Whiteriver            )
<  >      |(,,) )__)             (   Kattibrie/Calishandra of Telnor )
 ||      /    \)___)\             (_ Yasmine/Starlin of Marrid       )
 | \____(      )___) )___           -==-_____-=====-_____-=====-___==
  \______(_______;;; __;;;