(Still at Tellari...)

Frelan looked into the rugged face of the gaurd.  His breath was foul, 
his skin oily, and his teeth yellow.  The large man had ahold of the 
front of his shirt, literally having picked the dark-haired youth up off 
the floor.

He shook him again, repeating his question, "What are you doing here, boy?!"

"I... ah.... I was just..." Frelan's eyes were wide as he searched for a 
response to the guard.

<Tell him you came here for me.>

Frelan looked around, eyes meeting those of the smelly guard dangling him 
by his shirt front, "Wha... what did you say?"

The guard growled, shaking Frelan until he thought his head would bobble 
off, "I asked what you're doing here!"

Suddenly, Frelan was roughly dropped to the ground.  Shaking the abrupt 
shock of hitting the stones off, he heard a terrified wimper from the 
guard who'd been holding him.

Looking up he realized that the guard was no longer along.  In fact, he 
was pinned to the wall by a rather large, steel grey dragon hatchling.  
The hatchling turned his head to look directly at the tall boy sprawled 
on the floor.

<Tell him, my lifepartner.  Tell him you came here for me.>

Frelan stared at the young dragon, jaw agape and eyes wide with 
disbelief.  He stared at the dark blue draconic eyes that were looking 
into his with expectation.

<Frelan, tell him!> The voice in his head became demanding now, and the 
boy blinked out of his reverie.

"I... I came for him."  Frelan gestured to the young dragon.

With a snort of satisfaction, the hatchling released the guard and made 
his way over to Frelan.  He sat down next to the boy still on the stones 
and patiently regarded him.

<About time.  I was wondering if I was going to have to bite.>

"B... bite me?  Why would you bite me?"  Frelan had heard stories of 
dragons, but never of one simply biting a human.

<To get you to finally notice me.  It took you long enough.  Everyone 
else is already gone... Except Sylveri.  But she wasn't strong enough, 
anyway.>

"Sylveri?" Came the question from Frelan's lips.

<Yes, over there.>  The steel grey head turned to look off to the left 
and behind him.  Frelan's gaze followed.

There, in the middle of the floor, was the strewn body of the tiny silver 
hatchling.  Over this was the blonde form of Manda, her shoulders shaking 
as she wailed.

"Wha?  What happened to her..." He looked back at the little dragon in 
front of him, searching for a name.  

<Ta'ryel.> Came the reply, <She got in the way when our dam made her 
escape.  She wasn't fast enough.>

"Oh..."

A guard came in, this one looking much cleaner than the guard who'd 
dropped him on the floor, looked at Frelan, then moved past him to 
Manda.  He helped the girl to her feet, but not before she grabbed 
something off of the body of her dead silver hatchling.  He turned, his 
eyes falling on Frelan.

"You there.  You and your hatchlling come with me.  You're not safe 
here.  We have to get you with the others."

Frelan nodded mutely, getting to his feet.  He began to follow when his 
thoughts were again interrupted by the voice in his head.

<Coriandreth says we're to wait here.  Her rider is coming to get us.>

The tall boy looked down at the steel grey hatching before him, blinking 
in wonder as the reality of the situation hit him.  He said the name he'd 
heard only once before, letting it roll off his tongue, "Ta'ryel."

<That is I, my lifemate.  You and I are one.  We are joined, a fighting 
pair.  Together, we will do anything.>

Frelan blinked, taking in every aspect of the newly hatched form before 
him.  His wide eyes were the darkest blue, striking against the steel 
grey of his hide.  Rainbow hues danced over ridges and muscle, dazzling 
what could have been a plain hide with hints of irridesence.  Gangly 
legs, a thick neck, and an overly long tail promised that this was to be 
a huge dragon when he reached maturity.

"C'mon, get moving!" The guard called out as he led Manda around the 
corner and out of the room.

Urgency filled Ta'ryel's voice in Frelan's head <We cannot go with them!  
Coriandreth says I put you in danger if we go with them!>

"Okay, okay.  We won't go with them!"  Frelan looked around, seeing the 
door he'd entered through originally, "Come on, Ta'ryel.  Come this way."

He led the small grey dragon out into the hallway and around the corner.

Iralyn, outside Tellari
-----------------------

Iralyn gaped in astonishment as Coriandreth rose with Alpha wing to 
teleport back to the Warren.  However, when the rest of the wing blinked 
out of sight, she found herself alone in the sky over Tellari with only 
her dragon.  Below them, half of Beta wing was still keeping guard.

Coriandreth, however, had other things in mind.  She winged off to the 
left, cleverly landing behind one of the walls.  Completely hidden, 
Iralyn slid off her dragon's neck.  Anger taking over, she demanded of 
her dragon, *Cori, what in the name of all that's sacred to us...."

<Calm down, my rider.  We've forgotten a passenger.>

"Frelan can rot here at Tellari for all I care.  He's the one who decided 
to leave the protection of the group," Iralyn fumed, looking pointedly at 
Coriandreth.

The dark, sea-green eye blinked calmly at her once, <Perhaps.  But 
Ta'ryel cannot stay here.>

Iralyn folded her arms across her chest and regarded her dragon, "And 
who, might I ask, is Ta'ryel?  I deserve to know, since you're risking 
our necks to stay here, you know."

Coriandreth rumbled a bit of displeasure, not enjoying her rider's 
attitude, <I would not risk your neck for anything.  I believe you know 
that.>

The girl's stance melted from one of defiant anger to one of 
resignation.  She sighed and frowned, "Oh, Cori.  I know."  She reached 
up a hand to caress the large green head fondly.

Satisfied with that response, Coriandreth continued, <Now.  I cannot get 
inside the Estate.  You must go get Ta'ryel.>

Iralyn looked over her shoulder.  There was a side entrance there to the 
Tellari Estate.  She turned back to her lifemate, "I'll go get him.  Who 
is he and what does he look like?"

<He's a dragon.  Small and grey.  He'll have a tall male with dark hair 
by his side.  Your friend.>

Iralyn blinked, "My friend?  What friend?"

<The one you love, my rider.  The one who came here with us.>

The girl gaped at her dragon, "Fr... Frelan?  And a dragon?"

<A Hatchling, to be specific.>

"Oh, gads!"  

And she was off, spinning on her heel and disappearing into the side door.

When her rider was out of sight, Coriandreth caught a glimpse of another 
dragon landing not far away, near the main exit to Tellari.  She quickly 
moved over to the other dragon.

"Coriandreth?  Where is Iralyn?!"  Chalia moved quickly to intercept, 
looking between her own gold-green dragon and Iralyn's sea green.  Her eyes 
were wide with anticipation as she waited for the response to her 
question, "Sianna, what does she say?!"

 
(Inside the Tellari Estate)

Iralyn listened closely to the sounds around her as her eyes began to 
adjust to the dimness of the hallway.  She could hear the faint sounds of 
voices and movement, but nothing close enough for her to discern their 
identity.

With a frown she moved forward, clinging to the walls laced with 
cobwebs.  She could make out the end of the hallway about thirty yards 
ahead, a light barely visible indicating a turn or a doorway left ajar.

As she reached the end of the hallway, she found that it ended in a 'T'.  
Off to the left was a huge door, lock barring any idea she might have of 
trying to enter it.  Cobwebs draped in front of the door indicated that 
it hadn't been opened in years. 

To her right was another door, this one ajar with light streaming through 
it.  She peered her head around the doorjam cautiously.  

What she saw was an empty hallway, torches lining it every ten feet or so 
from this end as far as she could see.

*Cori?  Cori, which way?* she asked her dragon.

<They are in a large room at the end of that hallway, my rider.  Sianna 
says there are more than one that need to come with us.>

*More?!  Sianna?!*  Iralyn cursed under her breath.  That meant her 
wingsecond was outside.  She couldn't decide if this was a good or a bad 
thing.

Iralyn moved down the torch-lit hallway, her steps careful as she 
attempted to move silently.  She came to a large set of double-doors and 
stopped.  They were very slightly ajar, a line of bright light pouring 
out of them.

*Cori?*

<That is where the others are, my rider.  There are not many.>

She peered through the crack.  In her line of sight were a few young 
dragons and their lifemates, all looking terribly distressed and 
confused.  Iralyn could see the golden blonde head of Manda, tears 
pouring down her face, a kind-looking soldier making an effort to comfort 
her.

She leaned back against the wall, eyes scanning the rest of the hallway.  
It seemed to end a few feet away, merging into a much larger, main corridor.

*Where is Frelan?*

<Not far.  He is down the large corridor to the left.  I will tell 
Ta'ryel to stop and turn around.>

Iralyn chewed on her lip, a frown creasing her youthful features.  She 
peeked into the cracked door once more.  Her eyes widened as she realized 
something she hadn't thought of before!

How was she going to get them past the soldiers?

She saw a shadow heading towards her from the large corridor.  Looking 
around in a state just short of panic, she searched for a place to hide.

<It is Ta'ryel and his newly joined lifemate.> Coriandreth reassured her.

Sure enough, a steely grey hatching rounded the corner, closely followed 
by the familiar form of Frelan.  Relief washed over her and she motioned 
them over, holding up a finger for silence.

Iralyn watched the two as they hurried towards her, the little dragon 
with his wings splayed for balance.  This brought a smile to her face.  
She'd have loved to sit there and help them adjust, but she shook off her 
pride for the pair and whispered to Frelan.

"We have to get the others out."  A gesture to the opening in the door 
and Frelan understood.

"How, Ira?" He hissed in return, "There are soldiers everywhere!"

Iralyn frowned, her eyes darting around as she tried to decide what to do.

A sudden mournful wail came from the room where the others were.  Iralyn 
and Frelan exchanged a glance, both saying at the same time, "Manda."

As they pressed their faces to the crack, both could see the small girl 
push the kind-looking soldier down.  He had a grip on her arm, so she 
went with him a ways until she wrenched herself free.

She turned and made a dash across the room, heading straight for them!

As they watched, something in her eyes changed.  The green of Manda's 
eyes met the blue and brown of theirs.  They widened, then narrowed, her 
mouth matching in a sinister sneer.  As she ran past, leading the guards 
on a heated chase around the room, she hesitated long enough to speak to 
the two peering in the door.

"This one's for Sylveri.  After this, no more!"

And she was gone.  The crowd of soldiers ran past, shouting and cursing.  
Then they were gone.

The small group of newly joined watched in stunned silence, unsure of 
what had just happened.  Iralyn and Frelan pushed the door all the way 
open, looking around for a moment before calling out, "Come on!  This way!"

Iralyn pointed and Frelan led the way back down the torch-lit corridor.  
Pair after pair, human helping hatchling, they filed out of the room and 
followed the tall young man and his steel grey dragonet.  Oddly, when 
Iralyn thought about it later, it was more like Ta'ryel was leading and 
not Frelan.

Bringing up the rear, Iralyn checked to see that everyone was out of the 
room, then followed the tottering, wobbly group of newly-joined.  They 
turned into the darker, smaller hallway,  heading towards the sunlit 
opening at the end.

(Outside Tellari...)

As the young dragons and their newly-joined lifemates filed out of the 
side opening, Coriandreth lifted her bulk off the ground and moved to 
meet them.

In a matronly manner, she shuffled them off to the side and to safety.  
Sianna was soon doing the same.  Together it looked as if the two green 
dragons were counting.  Coriandreth seemed to be favoring a rather large 
steel grey hatching, his lifemate thumping the sea-green hide with familiar 
affection.

Chalia scanned the group, eyes widening as she counted.  A small group, 
though not suprising since this was not a metallic queen that had 
clutched this group of hatchlings.

Following the last dragon out, she spotted someone already dressed in 
rider's clothing.  She rushed over, relief washing through her body.  She 
tried to hide it, bringing the wingsecond authority out instead of the 
protective, motherly one.

"Iralyn!" 

Iralyn stopped where she was, froze in place, and seemed to wince.  She 
glanced over at her wingsecond, "Yes, Chalia?"

(*Tag* Jill!)


--Respectfully Submitted,

  Lisa Klein (Halyn, Iralyn, and Coriandreth)