[Ilara's apartment, day before Xylian's attack]

>"It's alright," Ilara reassured her.  "I'm here now.  We'll
>always be together.  In heart, in soul. and in life."

  Carl clutched to her love, her heart wanting to believe 
everything Ilara said was true, but her realistic side 
kept trying to knock a little reality into her fantasy 
world.

  Ilara reached under Carlynee's chin and their lips met 
in the sweetest of kisses.  As their lips parted, Carlynee's 
sigh was cut off when she accidently spilled over the wine 
bottle.

  Both women jumped up as they got wine all over them, 
laughing and giggling.  It was enough to break the sexual 
tension that had fired up between the two and they finished 
off the last glass of wine they managed to save with a 
more friendly atmosphere.  The fire which had been lit, was 
only biding it's time before it would burst into flame 
once again.

                 [several hours later]

  Calrynee broke from Ilara's comfortable embrace, her color-
blinded eyes blankly staring into empty space.

  "Great galloping gophers!"  Carlynee's voice was self 
reprimanding and she shook her head in frustration.

  "What is it Carl hun?" 

 Ilara's voice held a wealth of concern.  Whatever bothered 
Carl, bothered her.  Now that Carlynee had at last given into 
her feelings and Ilara knew that she loved her, there was no 
way Ilara was going to let anything worry her or cause her 
pain.

  The thin artisan smacked a hand against her forehead, "Oh 
shards, shards, shards!  I promised Halyn that I'd meet her 
for dinner.  I can't go like this, not being able to see a 
thing.  Oh gods, I totally forgot about Halyn."

  Carl turned her head towards Ilara's comforting voice, her 
eyes wide, the pupils dialated to mere pin pricks.

  "Carl, my love.  Halyn knows about your gift right?  I've 
had you to myself long enu-nough.  We could invite Halyn 
up for a private dinner?  Besides, I like Halyn and would 
really apper-reciate company."

  Carlynee nodded, her face relaxing from the tense worry 
that inhabitated it so recently ... totally forgetting that 
Frelan was also supposed to be there for dinner.

                    <tag Sam ...>

                     [next morning]

  Carlynee groaned sleepily as she felt a hand tugging her, 
trying to wake her.

  "Carl... we fell asleep,"  Ilara's voice chimed softly by her 
ear.

  Popping one eye open, Carlynee gazed at the woman beside her 
and came fully awake.  She wasn't sure if she were more startled 
at seeing Ilara nect to her in bed or by actually being awake 
almost immediately, because she usually was such a deep sleeper.

  Carl opened her mouth to complain, and then listened with an
attentive ear as notes filtered in, beautiful music... "Listen, 
it's wonderful," she whispered to the queenrider.  Carlynee 
decided then and there that she would get up more early in the 
morning ... especially if she were to get the pleasure of looking 
at Ilara's face and listening to such glorious music.

  "Yes," Ilara said after a bit, expression softened.

  Propping her head up on one hand, Carlynee just gazed at Ilara, 
her face holding a bemused expression.  With the sun just grazing 
the horizon, Ilara was bathed in hues of yellow, red and orange 
and Carlynee's long fingers twitched with the need to paint 
the beautiful dragonrider.  Just as she was sitting up, her 
eyes excited at the very thought, Ilara moved suddenly away 
from her.

    "Carl, 'scuse me," Ilara grinned.  "Itch itch itch.  All they
ever do is itch!"

  Carlynee laid back down slowly, clutching her fingers in the 
long shirt she was wearing and staring at the junior queen 
dragonrider and her queen.  Ilara was chuckling and scrubbing 
at Erkvinen's eye ridges and the young queen rumbled her 
pleasure.  Soon it seemed Ilara was engrossed in her task of 
oiling and scratching the queen.  Carlynee quietly got up 
and padded barefooted to the bathroom, closing the door with a 
slight 'snickt'.

  Leaning close enough to the mirror to feel her nose brushing 
against it and see her eyes almost crossing in order to look 
into the familiar green orbs, Carlynee decided she really 
couldn't tell that inside she was blackened with the jealousy 
she was feeling at that moment.  It never bothered her before, 
the fact that Ilara and her queen were almost one entity ... so 
why did this one act cause her to react this way?

  Shaking her head, Carlynee blew a stray lock of hair out of 
her eye and grimaced at her reflection.  She whispered to her 
image, "It's good that we decided to take it slow.  Who 
knows how I would have felt if we had become intimate last 
night.  This is not a good sign."

  Her sigh was echoed by her stomach's grumbling.  She felt 
as if she hadn't eaten in days, weeks even.  Patting her 
stomach with a grin of amusement, her attention was diverted 
by a knock on the door.

  "Carl?  You in there?"

                         <tag Sam>

                  [Dining Hall - breakfast]

   Carlynee chewed vigorously on her fruit danish, her eyes 
closed to better enjoy the sensation and taste.  Truely Z'ril 
had to be a genius, how else could he make such wonderfully, 
light and frothy concoctions?  Her eyes flickered open in time 
to see her little friend Thomi waving shyly at her.  Her eyes 
widened with gladness at the smile on Thomi's face.  It helped 
bring back the boyishness to his serious little face.  Her 
eyes tracked him back to the kitchen, her sugar coated face 
smiling until she met Ilara's face.  

  Carlynee's eyes softened and they professed her love for the 
dragonrider, her tongue absently touching her lips to get the 
sugary stuff off of it.  Ilara's eyes followed the movement and 
her eyes darkened, fingers clutching the fork and knife in her 
hands.  Both stared at each other, delving deep into each other's 
expressive green eyes, the voices of the others eating and 
enjoying their breakfast seemed to mute and all that could be 
heard was each individual heart beat.

  Blinking rapidly, Carlynee broke the spell as she heard someone 
calling her name.

  "Carlynee?"  

  Turning halfway in her seat, Carlynee wiped off her face with 
a napkin and smiled to Thomi, "Hey there handsome, good morn to 
you."

        <tag Jill ... she'll definately say yes to the party>

                             
{NRPG:  Stopping here because I'm being kicked off the computer.
    *grin*  Such is life eh?  Hopefully will be able to get 
    writing a little faster and a little more.}

colorful regards, 
Cheryl / Carlynee
Xylian Warren




  

  

  

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