** Lisha **

>"What was that all about?" he asked, "Did you have to upset her that way?"
>
>"I was just concerned about Shawnee," Lisha said in defense, "I wanted to
>know what I could do to smooth things over between them, that's all."
>
>Shawnee? This was about Shawnee? Not Tarv'renon? "Look, I need her. I need
>her to not be worrying about anything .. particularly Shawnee."
>
>"I'm sorry.. I .. I just wanted to help."

Lisha was respectfully quiet in her reply, but regarded Th'rin with a
cautious eye, it wasn't like him to be so... testy.

>"Well attacking her isn't helping! There's enough trouble around here
>without you attacking a desperately needed healer!"

Lisha's mouth went agape. Attacking? She hadn't done a thing but inquire
as to a problem between Xanthia and Shawnee. If anything it was Xanthia
who was launching a verbal assault on her!

>Th'rin could feel his temperature rising .. Gods! What was wrong with him?
>He could see the rider looking at him in surprise. No one expected this
>sort of aggressive behavior from the meek Thorin .. Well he wasn't Thorin
>anymore! He was Th'rin! "Now go make yourself useful and stop harassing my
>staff!"

Tears stung her eyes and she turned and fled the area, trying to clear
her mind so she could do something to help. She was suddenly stopped by
someone calling out her name. 

"Lisha!"

<Oh gods, I nearly ran over the warrenlady!> Lisha fretted.

<Smooth move!> Hyacinth sarcastically concurred.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Lisha sputtered in an attempt at an
apology.

"Is something wrong?" Trinale asked.

"Yes... No... Gods, everyone seems to have lost their minds around
here!"

"There's always confusion during a wraith attack, you know that."

"Its... different than that." Lisha sighed.

"Oh?"

The darkhaired woman nodded, "Shawnee, she can't look at Xanthia without
running in terror. I tried talking to Xanthia, she threw a fit and
yelled at me... I'm sure you heard her, I'm sure everyone did! And
Th'rin, he's not acting himself at all. He's acting more like a woman
about to reach her time of the month! He even yelled at me, accused me
of attacking Xanthia." She sighed and pushed back a lock of hair before
continuing more calmly, "He told me to get out of there and go make
myself useful, so that's what I was trying to do... What are you doing
out of bed anyway? Didn't you just have surgery?"

<NRPG: Tag Kat!>

***
** Tarv'renon **

>"Feeling better?" Th'rin asked looking down at him.
>
>He nodded, "Yeah, thanks."

The large blond man smiled up at the healer. Maybe this was a good
thing; all would be forgiven as he was a hero, he flew into battle
unasked.

>"Don't thank me, if I'd had a choice they'd have just left you out there.
>Wraith bait."
>
>The man looked up at the healer and grimaced.

<Evidently not all is forgiven, my rider,> Murkash replied sadly.

>"No one's forgotten what you did." Th'rin told him. He finally turned his
>hazel eyes away from the man and picked up his chart. "However your dragon
>doesn't deserve to die just because you're a scumbag. Still I've got guards
>on your door and watch dragons on your dragon. Don't think you can get
>around them. Xanthia is safe."

Tarv'renon sat upright in the bed, though his head throbbed with the
effort. He grabbed Th'rin by the shirt and pulled him within inches of
his face. 

"Time will tell about that..." The reply came through gritted teeth.
Surely they underestimated him yet again.

"Release me now!" Th'rin demanded, his temper rising yet again.

"Make me!" Tarv'renon challenged, his eyes narrowed to slits.

He didn't expect what was to happen next, as a fist painfully collided
with his eye. He could feel it starting to swell shut. Anger surged
within him with the pain. He raised the smaller healer up and tossed him
to the ground.

<This isn't helping anything!> Murkash fretted. 

Th'rin picked himself up. "Assaulting a healer? Trying to add to the
charges against you, Tarv'renon?"

"And who's going to tell your precious warrenlady? After all, healer, it
was you who threw the first punch. I doubt that Miss Trinale would look
too kindly on one of her healers assaulting a patient," he challenged.

***

** Xanthia **

>Moira nodded and then gently took Xanthia's other hand. "It will be
>alright." She said quietly, not knowing what else to say.

Xanthia looked at Moira uncomprehendingly. All right? How could it be
all right? This man took her and held her against her will! But how
could she explain that, Moira wasn't even there when it happened. She
looked back at Th'rin, filled with dread and morbid curiosity.

>"Where is he?" Xanthia asked.
>
>"Does it matter, he can't hurt you?"
>
>"Where is he?"

<Damn it, why won't he answer me?!?>

<He's right, it doesn't matter. Even Murkash is well guarded.>

<I have to know!>

>"Xanthia, I do not want you back there checking on him. I've already given
>strict orders to the staff that if anything happens with him, they wake me
>.. not you! I want you to say away from him."

"Why???"

"Because I don't want you hurt. Geez, why is that so hard for you to
understand?" Th'rin threw his hands up in despair.

Tears stung Xanthia's eyes and her lip trembled, unused to being spoken
to in that tone by Th'rin and fatigue making her more sensitive.

"What now?" Th'rin snapped.

"You're yelling at me!" Xanthia whimpered.

***

[Early morning, at dawn]

** Gemma **

The large gentle woman threw her hands in the air as several of the less
injured males took flight from the med center healing paddock.

"Stupid beasts! Don't come crying to me when you come back hurting!" she
cried out in frustration. 

But she knew they couldn't help it, they were just following their
natural drives.

***

** Tarv'renon **

He awoke with the familiar heat in his loins. His whole being was filled
with the animalistic drive of dragon lust. His imagination filled with
the endless possibilities of who it could be as he threw his legs over
the edge of the bed and, grabbing the cane at his bedside, hobbled out
in search of the rider whose dragon had taken flight. Was it his
Xanthia, her beautiful Maxima taking her first flight? Why, as young as
the redheaded healer was, he imagined she wasn't even tried yet. The
bulge beneath his robe growing at the thought. Or was it Lisha, who he
has heard was quite the treat. Or Gwynna, lovely Gwynna...

*******

NRPG: Hehe! Strange ending, I know... But it will all come to light
soon, it's all been planned. <VEG> That's tags to Kat, Kris, and Rhi!


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

Morgan's World http://members.xoom.com/Morgie/home.html

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