Date:  Wed Jan 16, 2002  1:19
pm


Day 7, Morning

**Xanthia**



Xanthia moped as she started her day. She pulled her hair back in a scarf 

and set to changing Alina's diaper before feeding her.



"Coffee?" Merissa asked, holding out a steaming cup.



"Please," Xanthia replied, looking up at Merissa without any smile in her eyes.



"Xanthia?" the warrenlady queried with concern, "Is something bothering you?"



"Oldreth." Xanthia replied softly.



"What about Oldreth?" Merissa asked.



"It's just... He hasn't come to see me or Alina. And I haven't heard 

anything even from Wintermoon. I don't understand why?" Xanthia looked up 

with the eyes of a wounded child. "Does he hate me... did he leave again?" 

she asked, voicing her innermost fears.



<<NRPG: Tag Arle!>>



***

Late Morning



** Latnem**



The mind healer shook his head as he came out of the room. He'd come here 

to be Xanthia's mind healer, and now he was involved in so much more. "What 

a tangled web..." he mused.



"Latnem?" the warrenlady's voice roused Latnem from his inner thoughts. "I 

hate to bother you but there's a young lady in this room who might really 

need your services..."



"What's the history?" he asked.



"Her name is Lorelei. She's 16, she ran away from home and was accosted..."



"Accosted?" Latnem raised an eyebrow.



"Raped."



Latnem subconsciously reached up and rubbed wearily at his forehead. Gods, 

he hated dealing with sexual abuse; and there seemed to be so much of it 

here at the warren, whether real or perceived. "Why did she run away?"



"She used to live here at the warren, she may have been running to here," 

Merissa explained.



"Did she know her attacker?"



"Attackers." Merissa corrected. "And, no. They were part of a tithing 

caravan she hitched a ride with.



"I see," Latnem did his best to hide the inner flinch he felt. He ran his 

fingers through his hair, "Have her... um... physical needs been seen to?"



"Th'rin saw her earlier."



"Okay... " Latnem agreed. "Oh, and I'll see you this afternoon at the 

apartment, for Xanthia's lesson. Please remind Eleanora when you see her." 

With that Latnem opened the door and entered the girl's room.



"Lorelei?" Latnem softly closed the door behind him and carefully pitched 

his voice to be as soothing as possible. "My name is Latnem," He studied 

her aura with concern, then added even more calmative accents to his 

cadence. "Merissa asked me to speak with you. I understand you've been 

through quite an ordeal..."



<<NRPG: Tag Kat!>>



***



Mid afternoon



** Xanthia**



The redheaded healer looked surprised to see not just Merissa and Th'rin 

but also Latnem enter the apartment.



"Feeling better?"  Merissa asked, giving Xanthia a hug and stroking her 

hair, prompting Latnem to raise an eyebrow in question. Merissa caught the 

unasked question and cast him an "I'll tell you later," look. Now they 

needed Xanthia as calm and cooperative as possible.



Xanthia nodded, then asked, "What's going on?"



Merissa smiled. "Latnem's come up with an idea. And it's something Eleanora 

can help us with."



"Oh?" Xanthia blinked.



"Sometimes it's hard to convey things to you without causing you 

embarrassment. And sometimes you embarrass yourself when you can't find the 

words." Latnem began



Xanthia nodded in agreement, not quite seeing the connection.



"So, what we need is a way for us to communicate to you subtly, and for you 

to be able to tell us what's wrong before you lose control." Latnem 

explained further.



"Oh..." Xanthia looked down embarrassed.



"That's why Eleanora is coming over, to teach us some sign language." 

Merissa added, to come around to the point.



"Hello!" Xanthia turned around to the courier's voice.



"Eleanora! You are just in time!" Merissa exclaimed.



"So..." Xanthia asked tentatively, "Who all is in this class?"



"You, and those who deal with you most directly." Eleanora replied. 

"Latnem, Merissa, Th'rin."



"What about Oberon, and Corra? And what of Arri and 'Tonio? They should be 

here, too!" Xanthia insisted.



"I don't want the class to be too big. It's hard to teach to many people," 

Eleanora explained.



"Uh!" Xanthia grunted in protest.



"Xanthia..." Th'rin warned softly.



"But! Shouldn't everyone who knows me know it?" Xanthia protested anew.



"I think I know of a way around this..." Latnem offered.



"How?" Xanthia asked.



"It's called a learning tree. The three of us can learn and then in turn 

teach whomever we wish. Then they can teach others, and so on. Eventually 

it would ultimately be possible for the whole warren to know sign language."



"Okay!" Xanthia acquiesced. "So let's begin! Oh, and congratulations, Merissa!"



"Congratulations?" Merissa asked.



"About Chrysthal carrying eggs!" Xanthia exclaimed excitedly, "I'm sorry, I 

meant to say it sooner, but I kept forgetting. Should be interesting with 

both her and Daetyn on the hatching grounds. Daetyn should be laying soon, 

shouldn't she?" Xanthia bubbled. She just loved hatchings, even more so now 

that she'd had a child of her own.



<<NRPG: Tag Arle, Kris, and KK!>>



***

Dinner



At Latnem's suggestion, Xanthia accompanied him down to the dining hall. It 

was time to start getting out again. She carefully set down the basket 

which contained it's most precious cargo on the chair beside her, then 

leaned over and lovingly stroked Alina's cheek. <It's okay, Alina. This is 

just the dining hall.  I know it's noisy here...> she soothed silently as 

the baby started to skew up her face.



"It's good to see you out and about, m'lady."



Xanthia looked up to see 'Tonio smiling down at her. Her heart instantly 

warmed at the sight of her savior.



"Tonio!!!" Xanthia exclaimed excitedly as she jumped up and planted a kiss 

on his lips. She parted long enough to continue, "I didn't know you'd been 

released! Why didn't you come tell me! Come, sit down, chat with us! I can 

teach you some of the signs I learned today!"



<<TAG Chris!>>



Latnem arched an eyebrow in surprise. Was a relationship developing between 

these two, he wondered? But before he could take Xanthia aside to ask her 

any questions, he happened to notice A'rillia exiting the dining hall.



"If you'll excuse me, there's someone I need to talk to," Latnem apologized.



"But we just sat down! You should eat!" Xanthia insisted.



"Later, I assure you," Latnem promised. "You're in good hands here," he 

nodded at 'Tonio, "so enjoy your meal." With that he left the two in 

pursuit of the junior queenrider, hoping she wouldn't be too evasive. When 

last they met she'd requested of him the impossible, and left him alone in 

the room without a chance to respond. Every other attempt to talk to her 

since had been artfully evaded. Not this time, he promised himself, even as 

reminded himself that he had to tread carefully with this one.



<<NRPG: Tags to Chris and Bets!>>



*************

NRPG: My apologies for taking so long to post. RL has been hell lately, and 

I had really hoped it would have settled by now. I hope this catches me up 

and that I've made no oversights. I have no specific plans with anything, 

so have fun with it.





Respectfully submitted by:



Morgan

morgan-the-elfwench@home.com

morgan_the_dragonwench@yahoo.com