On Tue, 30 Dec 1997, Kris & Scott Gant wrote:


> T'jellan
> ***
> <<Lunchtime>>

> T'jellan and Ashelle had searched along with several other riders for the
> missing Xanthia, but with no luck so far. Ashelle was growing more and more
> distraught. He pulled her to a log by the river, just under the waterfall
> and wrapped his arms around her in comfort.
> 
> He reluctantly took his arms away from her
> and stood, trying to think where else they had yet to look? There weren't
> many places. The next step would be searching each dragonriders apartment.
> He hated to think it might be a dragonrider who had kidnapped her. He was
> hoping it was just that the strange girl had wondered off ..
> 
> "T'jellan!" Ashelle cried. He focused his attention back on her and then to
> the rock she was pointing at. There were clearly blood stains on the rock.
> "Oh gods .." he breathed.
> 
> "Could she be .. dead?"
> 
> "NO!" he said sharply, then lowered his voice a bit, and gently took her
> hand, "No. Maxima is alive.. so is her rider. But this does make it seem a
> bit more serious."
> 
> "I want to go see the Warrenlady to authorize a full search of all apartments."

  Ashelle blinked, and stood on shaking legs to look at T'jellan with wide
eyes.

  "It's really serious now then, isn't it?  But if there's blood on the
rock, maybe she's still in the water somewhere?  Should we look there
first?"

  She glanced at the water, and shuddered, thinking that her friend might
be in there somewhere, still alive but hurt badly...she sighed softly,
and nodded at T'jellan.

  "Then again, you're more experienced at this sort of thing than I am.
Do you think I can come along when you talk to the Warrenlady?"

  Reaching for her hand, the man nodded and started off at a rather brisk
clip..Ashelle moving hurriedly to keep up.

  Her grip tightened as the approached the Warrenlady's quarters, and she
looked at T'jellan again, for comfort mostly..as he gave a sharp knock on
the door.

  "Come in!" came from the other side, and he wasted no time in opening
the door and stepping inside, Ashelle in tow, looking quite anxious and
worried.  But she had the sense to keep quiet and let T'jellan talk unless
she was specifically spoken to.

  "T'jellan, Ashelle, an unexpected suprise!"  Trinale caught the
expression on the young girl's face, and turned to glance at T'jellan,
brows arching as she saw almost the same expression mirrored on his face.

  Placing her hands flat on her desk, she motioned with her head towards a
couple of chairs.  "You both look as if you need to sit before you fall
down..at least Ashelle does.  Are you all right, Ashelle?"

  Shaking her head quickly, Ashelle blurted out before thinking.  "No
M'am!  It's Xanthia..she's gone missing, and there was blood on the
rock..."  She went quiet and cast an apologetic glance at T'jellan, who
remained standing even as she dropped heavily into one of the chairs.
"I'm sorry, T'jellan...you go on."

  T'jellan offered a reassuring smile then turned to face Trinale.  "Seems
Ashelle got a worried message from her dragon that Maxima, the new
hatchling that Joined to Xanthia was upset.  She was hungry and needed to
be fed but couldn't get an answer from her rider."

  He took a breath and went on.  "Ashelle checked at the party, and was
told that Xanthia did some sort of strange dance there, spinning and
whirling around, that she fell, and limped out..and no one has seen her
since then."

  Trinale sat quietly, worry creasing her brow as she listened, knowing
there was more to the story.

  "Well..the end of it is that we haven't been able to find her, and
Ashelle spotted blood on one of the rocks by the waterfall.  We don't know
it's Xanthia's..."

  "We don't know it isn't, either,"  Ashelle interrupted then went red and
stared at the floor.  "Sorry again..I'm just worried about my friend."

  T'jellan gave her shoulder a squeeze, and turned back to Trinale.
"She's got a point though.  But as we haven't been able to find her
anywhere else, I want to do a search of each warren apartment, just to be
certain she's here or not before doing anything else."

  Trinale sighed, thinking a bit.  Then she looked at both of the riders,
one experienced and the other newly Joined...before giving her answer...

[Tag:  Kat,  Kris!]

-------------------

Jeanette
Ashelle/Oaklah * Whiteriver