<We need to go to training> the eager obsidian and red hatchling reminded
her rider after they had finished their greeting of each other.

<Training!> Xanthia had almost forgotten in the midst of everything. She
was now a rider, and must learn to take care of her hatchling.

<If we hurry, we can meet up with them!> Maxima told Xanthia.

*****

The two arrived at the training ground just as the day's lesson had begun.

"Xanthia!" Caliban greeted her, "Glad to see you could make it. I wasn't
expecting you today."

Xanthia felt all eyes on her and wanted to shrink inside herself, to get
away from the gaze of the other new riders. She clutched onto Maxima's neck
and tried to hide behind the hatchling.

<Don't be afraid, they won't hurt you. They are actually kind of nice.
Ashelle, Oaklah's rider, has been feeding me and oiling me while you were
gone.>

Xanthia relaxed a bit at the hatchling's reassurances.

"Ashelle," Cali called out, "Since you've been tending to Maxima during
Xanthia's ordeal, why don't you show Xanthia  how to bathe and oil a
hatchling."

***

Xanthia was drenched by the time she got through the awkward task of
bathing Maxima. Now it was time to oil the hatchling.

Ashelle showed the girl how to hold the rag and apply the oil to the hide,
explaining the reasons to her.

Xanthia nodded, and went to apply more oil to the rag when she dropped the
bottle of oil. She tried to catch it, but it slipped from her grasp,
spilling the oil all over the ground.

She could hear the giggles of the others, and her face burned in
embarrassment.

"Ignore them," Ashelle said to her quietly, taking a dry rag and wiping off
Xanthia's hands for her."

Tears welled up in Xanthia's eyes, the laughter wounding her like a knife.
She felt a bottle being put into her hand and heard a voice speaking to
her.

"There, no need crying over spilt oil, It happens to everyone sooner or
later. Here, there is plenty more where that came from," Caliban told
Xanthia.

Xanthia nodded, and muttered a "Thank you," to the trainer when prompted by
Maxima. 

Xanthia and Ashelle went back to the lesson in how to oil a dragon. But
Xanthia's movements were awkward as her hands learned this new task. She
heard more giggles behind her, and murmurs. Xanthia did her best to ignore
them, but one last comment stung her ears,

"You say she's a healer? I don't know if I'd trust her to do surgery on me,
she might drop the scalpel!" one girl said.

Xanthia turned and looked and saw it was the new girl, Elissa, the one who
hadn't believed she was joined.

***

** Maxima **

She couldn't take the pain her rider was feeling, the girl's comment had
stung Xanthia to the core. Maxima looked at her rider and saw her eyes
leaking and her lip trembling. Her hands were clenched at her sides. A
sorrowful howl escaped from the redhead.

The sound went straight through the black hatchling. He couldn't let
Patinari's rider hurt her Xanthia.

Flaring her wings out, Maxima charged at Elissa and the other riders who
had been laughing at her rider. She hissed and growled at the girl angrily.

*****
NRPG: Tag Kris! Jeanette, feel free to fill in Ashelle's reactions.
*****

** Xanthia **

** Sometime in the afternoon **

Xanthia took her lunch alone, and then took some of the nerve elixir that
she'd gotten before leaving the med center before lying down to take a nap.
The morning had been an exhausting and draining one, and Xanthia just
wanted nothing more than to withdraw from the human race for a while.

She awoke to the gentle physical and mental proddings of her hungry dragon.

<What is it, Maxima?> Xanthia replied groggily.

<I'm hungry!> The black and red dragon whined.

Xanthia got up, pulled on her pants and a shirt, and went to the meat
locker to get some food for the ravenous hatchling.

<I missed you when you were gone. Lots has happened here.> Maxima told her
rider as she ate the first bite of meat.

<Why don't you tell me about it?> Xanthia indulged her.

<Fayloth and Doshy's riders, they had a hatchling. And Pati's rider, seems
she's Fayloth's rider's sister, and her parents aren't happy about her
joining. And Doshy's rider's father is here, too, and that's upsetting her,
and Fayloth and Doshy's riders are arguing because Fayloth's rider mated
with...>

Xanthia's thoughts began to swirl and her head throb at all the gossip that
Maxima was telling her. Finally, unable to take it anymore, Xanthia clasped
her hands over her ears and cried out, "STOP! STOP! You're making my head
hurt!"

The hatchling looked at Xanthia hurt, <I'm sorry my rider, I thought you
wanted to know...>

<I tried, my heart, but it's just too much for me. Please, keep me
informed, but keep it simple. All this, it's just overwhelming.> Xanthia
explained.

***********

NRPG: Well, the last scene happened in the hatchling barracks, I am sure
that others would have noticed. Kris & Jeanette, feel free to write
commentary on it if your characters are there. I think this should get me
caught up with everyone. (I hope!)

                \=/,         _-===-_-====-_-===-_-==========-_-====-_
                |  @___oo   (    Submitted by:                        )
      /\  /\   / (___,,,}_--=    Jacqueline "Morgan" Allgood          )
     ) /^\) ^\/ _)        =__                                          )
     )   /^\/   _)          (_                                         )
     )   _ /  / _)            (      Danika/Kalindeth of Daere        )
 /\  )/\/ ||  | )_)            (_    Xanthia/Maxima of Whiteriver     )
<  >      |(,,) )__)             (   Kattibrie/Calishandra of Telnor )
 ||      /    \)___)\             (_ Yasmine/Starlin of Marrid       )
 | \____(      )___) )___           -==-_____-=====-_____-=====-___==
  \______(_______;;; __;;;