There are 3 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. [WEB] - Hiding in Plain Sight
From: "carys murray" <carysmurray@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
2. [DL-C] Now Do You See?
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
3. [DL-C] Food Chains and Baby Names
From: trissana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
1
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 15:01:19 -0700
From: "carys murray" <carysmurray@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [WEB] - Hiding in Plain Sight
Night of the Gala
[SNIP]
Shoving him away she stepped clear, her glare never fading. "Here's the
plan. I'll go this way," she gestured with an angry jerk of her chin.
"And
YOU, Jackal Boy, go THAT way."
[END SNIP]
Lucien felt the ire rise up and almost consume him. The jeering smug
look
of Bast gloating behind her eyes was enough to make him wish he could
remove
his kid gloves and put that kitty in her proper place.
The millennia of training kept him in check and focused on his mission,
his
purpose..and his growing personal interest in the subject.
He bowed to the servant of Bast as she stomped off in search of her
friend.
It was hard for him to show the respect he did not truly feel..but he
represented his Lord and Master, and would not shame him with such
lowly
base human emotions.
Lucien turned inward again and found the place needed to begin his
search.
The taint of the one who had been freed was growing stronger, as if his
power grew. The distinct stench of the walking dead was more
pronounced,
and it appeared they had found their mark or target and were circling
like
wolves in on their unsuspecting prey.
That was what worried Lucien.who was the target? Who had upset those
predators of the night? His heart beat stronger as he realized that
perhaps
they had been hired to take out one that was an inconvenience?
Kysen!
It made perfect sense..and with his growing fear rising with each
moment he
could not find a trace of her only confirmed his worse fears. Lucien
had
seen the swarm of the walking dead, dressed in fine their clothes
walking
among the others as if they truly belonged.
It amazed him how totally clueless these mere mortals were. So wrapped
up
in their little existences; they saw nothing of their journey along the
path
of their choosing.
On ward through the crowd he searched. The fact that he could get no
reading from her at all worried him even more. He picked up her scent
once
and followed it to find it dead end in the middle of the room.
This was NOT looking good. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to
sense
her.to push away the sights and sounds that surrounded him to focus on
his
mistress.
Feelings of shock and numbness flowed through him and a sense of
comfort and
safety now surrounded her. A sense of..WOLF!
Damn him.he had her! Lucien turned in the direction that would lead
away
from the party and hoped he could pick up on the scent of that lone
wolf.
Lucien stopped in his tracks. The scent of Kayn was gone, and it had
been
replaced by others. Lupine were here tonight.and in full numbers.
Were
they here to keep the predators of the night at bay?
It could not be! Lucien took in the scents around him. By his Lord and
Master Anpu!
He dared to show himself!
Lucien spun around in the direction of the faintest hint of the cursed
one.
Why had he come? How could he have discovered her so quickly and so
soon?
And what of Mistress Fionula? He thought back to their earlier spat.
Nope, she would be fine..or would she? Perhaps he should insist that
she
stay near just in case the demons were loosed upon them. This was not
boding up well, and as Lucien sensed the undead circling like a pack of
craven rabid dogs he felt his shackles rise and he knew he was running
out
of time.
He followed the last known scent he had of Kysen and stepped from the
room
for just a moment. He found a deserted corridor and invoked a spell to
ward
those in his protection. He then invoked an ancient spell that called
upon
the armies of his master.
Having everything in place..he stepped back into the room.
Silence reigned as the music and conversation died. The almost
unnatural
silence is what set off his alarms and he knew that this was the first
wave
of the show down.
His purpose was to cut through what was sent his way, and ensure his
lady
was safe.
And then the screams began. All around, people were being attacked.
Some
bitten in the neck, others thrown, still others menaced by clawed
fiends.
The signal had been given, and the Sabbat was not going to sit still
any
longer.
Lucien called upon his waiting army to begin to move through the
intruders,
so he could concentrate on Kysen.
NRPG - OK. Got Lucien in position, and I think most everyone else is
as
well. Let HH begin his fun, and we shall gladly step in and begin to
foil
his dastardly plans!
[SUMMARY]
Lucien parts company with Fionula as they begin to search for the
missing
hostess Kysen. Lucien realizes very soon that the forces of Hau-Hra
are
gathering and the attack is eminent and that Kysen is no where to be
found,
and he can not really hone in on her.
He readies for battle.
Respectfully Submitted by
Carys Murray
Aka
Lucien, Servant of Anpu and Protector of the Chosen
Also a few lines given to me by Chris...for Hau-Hra.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 11 May 2005 22:51:29 -0400
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-C] Now Do You See?
Day 1
Afternoon
<snip>
Warton tele****ted as soon as he was clear, blinking in above the dusty
upper "green" of the warren. He called out for healers as soon as he
was over the warren. He landed as quickly as possible, not bothering
with the attempted dust-free landing that Bohoc had been attempting to
teach him.
S'lomon was there in no time. Eth'n slowly eased Caly over the side
into the waiting arms below. The feeling of guilt washed over him as
he
sat there on his dragon, in complete disbelief. How had things gone so
terribly wrong?
<end snip>
S'lomon and another healer carried Calylin as quickly as they could to
the med center. Andorra met them at the door, her face wrinkling with
worry as she saw Caly. She hurried inside following S'lomon.
Word quickly spread through the warren, first dragons and then to the
riders and others. Ale'bela had been just waking from her nap when
Warton landed. She immediately felt something was wrong and
frantically
reached out for her bond mate.
{Caly? Calylin?!} Immediately the young dragon flew from the ledge
where
she was sleeping and down to the med center.
{Warton what happened???}
<There was this... desert-s**** thing... Eth'n thought it was one of
the
Nomad Gods or something... it came after him and your rider. Your
rider
fell and got hurt. But my rider saved her.> Warton responded with a
bit
of pride. <I'm sure she'll be all right. Riders get hurt all the
time.>
Ale'bela paced in front of the med center as Andorra and S'lomon worked
inside.
Eth'n paced inside the med center, wondering what the healers could do
for the young junior queenrider.
"Why? What did we do? What was that thing?" Eth'n muttered to
himself,
going over and over the incident in his head. "How can that thing be
stopped?"
People walking by looked at him curiously before moving on.
<*I don't know my rider, but my fire only seemed to make it stronger.
Maybe it can be crushed?*> Warton suggested.
Finally, when he thought he could stand it no longer, the healers came
out of the room with Caly.
"How is she? She'll be all right, won't she?" Eth'n called out as soon
as he saw them.
Andorra held up her hand to Eth'n. She glanced to S'lomon and nodded to
him with a small smile. "I will go check on Cynthia and the new
babies."
She stepped past Eth'n, patting him lightly on the shoulder.
Eth'n looked at S'lomon expectantly. "She's ok then?"
S'lomon nodded. "She will survive. Her arm was broken pretty badly in
the fall. It's going to take a long time to heal. She's going to have
to be careful for the next few months."
Eth'n nodded and looked past him into the room where Caly lay. "Can
I.?"
S'lomon nodded with a smile. "Sure. She needs rest though, ok?"
Eth'n nodded and moved into the room, taking the chair and moving it
close to the side of the bed. He reached and took Caly's good hand in
his and watched her as he continued to try and puzzle out in his mind
what had happened.
---
Across the warren Andahar and Alania were headed back to her office
when
they heard the news about Calylin and Eth'n. Concerned about what had
happened Andahar kissed Alania, promising to be back for dinner, then
headed toward the med center to find Eth'n.
Upon entering the medical center, the young Nomad chief stopped and
spoke with his cousin Andorra in their native tongue and was surprised
by her description of the accident and the injury.
"I could only heal her so much, time will finish. She is fortunate to
have lived. Man was foolish to save woman," Andorra stated plainly.
"She is rider of queendragon," Andahar reminded Andorra.
"Better to lose one rider, even queendragon rider, than to lose two.
Both could have died," Andorra stated stoically.
Andahar realized that not long ago he would have agreed with her. But
somewhere along the line, his values had been altered. "I am thankful
that none were lost."
Andorra raised an eyebrow, quizzically, but said nothing.
"Is Eth'n with her, now?" Andahar asked.
"Yes, you can go in, but not for long. She needs her rest." Andorra
pointed down the hall to the third room on the right.
Andahar softly slipped inside the room. He was surprised by the way
Eth'n was staring at the young queenrider. They barely knew each
other,
didn't they? Yet, he was watching her so intensely, and Andahar was
sure that he recognized deeper feelings in the gaze.
"Eth'n?" Andahar spoke softly, so as to not disturb the sleeping girl.
Eth'n looked up in surprise. "Andahar?"
"Andorra said she needs to heal. She could not do much special healing
on her arm."
Eth'n rose and they stepped outside into the hallway to let Caly
continue to sleep.
Eth'n frowned, not sure what Andahar had meant by "special healing".
"I'd hope they'd do as much healing as they could!"
"It weakens Andorra, and S'lomon insisted that she could heal on her
own," Andahar replied. Then he asked, "Nadusi?"
"Now do you see, what?" Eth'n frowned. The nomad's train of thought
was so hard to follow!
Andahar chuckled, "No, Bohoc says you were attacked by Nadusi?"
Eth'n shook his head, "Na Doo Zee? No idea -- We were attacked by some
giant s****-like thing."
"Nadusi," Andahar nodded. "I am amazed you both survive. I wonder if
this same one that attack village few days ago? Or is there more than
one?"
"You mean the thing that attacked Memnon and that nomad woman, umm that
woman rider?" Eth'n corrected himself, feeling slightly embarrassed
for
the unintended slur. But Andahar didn't seem to have noticed. Eth'n
was curious, though. He had not heard the full story, but there were
rumors.
"Memnon and Saleh, yes," Andahar confirmed a brief look of distaste
flashed across his face as he said Saleh's name.
"I'd like to hear more," Eth'n prompted.
Andahar smiled, "As would I." Andahar filled Eth'n in on what he knew
of the attacks on the villagers. He seemed slightly annoyed when Eth'n
interrupted him with questions. Then he said, "And... You must tell me
what happened during attack on you and Caly."
Eth'n told the story quickly, trying not to leave out any details.
Andahar stood silently and listened, never interrupting or asking any
questions until the trainer was done.
The Nomad pondered the tale for a few moments before commenting: "Fire
make Nadusi stronger."
"Yes, I think so." Eth'n replied. "Warton wondered if it could be
crushed."
"Maybe... maybe. We will see." Andahar frowned. This was not going
to
be an easy enemy to conquer.
"Eth'n?" A soft, frightened voice called from inside the room.
"Go, we will talk more, later." Andahar nodded toward the door with a
small smile.
Eth'n smiled and turned to enter. He looked over at the bed and smiled
reassuringly at the young junior queenrider, but when he glanced back
to
say farewell to Andahar, the Nomad chief had already disappeared,
silently, down the hallway.
[TAG: Rachel. How's Caly feeling?]
---
Summary:
Day 1
Afternoon
Eth'n and Andahar discuss the attack of the Nadusi outside Caly's room
in the medical center.
---
Respectfully submitted by:
Arlene Jacobs
AKA
Andahar and Bohoc
Eth'n and Warton
With thanks to Rachel Lange for Ale'bela and her input on Caly's
medical
condition.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 00:16:58 EDT
From: trissana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[DL-C] Food Chains and Baby Names
Trevor
Evening, Day 1
Med Center
Trevor sat in a chair beside Cynthia's bedside, watching his mate and
the two
babies. S'lomon had wanted to come and take the little ones off to the
nursery, but Cynthia would have none of it, at least not yet. After
having gone to
such trouble to bring about their arrival, she had told the healer, she
meant
to keep them with her for just a bit longer before having them put to
bed in
the next room.
"Aren't they wonderful?" Trevor asked, rubbing his tired eyes as he
stood up
and knelt down to where he could get a better look at both Cynthia and
the
babies. The Warrenlady nodded silently as she arranged the babies more
comfortably on either side of her.
"You're pretty wonderful too, you know," he said softly, reaching out a
hand
to gently stroke her hair.
"I couldn't have done it without you," she reminded him with a wry
grin.
"And, of course, Andahar."
Trevor smiled. "Of course," he said. "You know, we need to name
them."
Cynthia smiled. "You mentioned that earlier today, or had you
forgotten
that? Or maybe you hoped I'd forgotten, and would just come up with
names on my
own? I'm still waiting for your ideas."
Trevor cleared his throat. "Well, you-know-who had an idea..."
Cynthia chuckled. "And what did the Pearly Princess suggest? This
should be
good!"
"She suggested her own name," he said with a smile.
"How original," she chuckled. "But what about our son...?"
"That's the one she was suggesting the name for," he said, shaking his
head.
"And of course, you told her it was a silly idea, that all the other
boys
would tease him mercilessly, and all that?" Cynthia asked with a sly
smile.
"Of course I did!" he assured her.
"And then you told her you would think about it and ask me, right?"
"Well, of course," he told her with a soft laugh. "And now that I've
done my
duty, we can start thinking of a real name."
"For our son, at least," she said. "Any ideas?"
"Well," he said hesitantly, "I was thinking perhaps we could name him
after
his grandfather, K'rald? Unless you've got something better...?"
(Tag Alton)
* * * * *
Early Morning, Day 2
Warrenlady's Quarters
Having spent all night at the med center with his mate and the babies,
Trevor
had returned to their quarters early in the morning looking like he
himself
had been the one who had had to endure the birthing. He knew he should
be
about his duties, but thought that perhaps he could just lie down in
bed for just
a few moments...
Some time later he rolled over, unconsciously reaching out an arm to
draw
Cynthia close to him, as he always did. His arm closed around
something warm,
and it took him a moment to remember that Cynthia wasn't here, that the
other
side of the bed was *supposed* to be empty. The fact that it wasn't
could mean
only one thing. He cracked one eye open, and saw a much larger,
luminous blue
eye returning his gaze.
[Good morning, my rider!] Triss said happily.
Opening his eyes further, he saw that the dragon had managed to extend
her
head and neck through the entranceway just far enough that her head
could rest
on the bed. However, the bed wasn't designed for such weight and
neither was
the brass footboard. Both were sagging alarmingly.
[You looked lonely in here all by yourself,] she explained, [So I
decided to
come in and keep you company.]
Trevor groaned, knowing he'd be the one to catch hell if Cynthia's
brass
bedframe got bent. He decided that since his and Cynthia's bed
couldn't
accommodate the dragon, and the dragon was bound and determined that
her rider not be
"lonely," he decided that perhaps he'd better go and spend some time in
*her*
bed. At least there, he didn't have to worry about anything getting
broken.
And so, a few moments later, he found himself outside in the much
larger but
sparser part of the apartment that the dragons slept in. Triss was
only too
happy to share, of course, and as always was anxious to show off her
brightly
colored blanket. Once Trevor had laid down near the edge of the
blanket, she
curled herself in a half-circle around him so that her head was right
alongside
him. He reached over and patted her nose, then started to doze off
again.
[Syren's rider told her to tell me to tell you not to forget to eat
breakfast
this morning,] Triss said.
Trevor opened one eye. *Does Syren's rider really think that I would
forget
breakfast if I was in any condition to go down and eat it?* he asked.
Triss shrugged. [Well, I really don't know what she thinks, I'm just
passing
along the message. Too bad we don't have one of those food chains
around here
that you could snack on.]
This was too much for Trevor to let pass without asking. *Food chain?*
he
asked, raising himself up onto one elbow. *Um, where did you hear
about food
chains?*
[From one of the other dragons, whose rider was mentioning a 'food
chain,']
Triss replied. [He and I were discussing what a food chain would taste
like.
The only chains I've seen are made of iron, of course, and probably
taste
pretty rusty, but if there's another kind we should know about...]
Trevor had always made every effort to ensure that he had a
well-educated
dragon, so he took it upon himself to explain just what that term
meant. He
scooted himself over to the edge of the blanket, where he could touch
the warm
sand that lay underneath. He took a finger and used it to make a
drawing while
Triss looked over his shoulder.
*A food chain isn't something you eat,* Trevor explained. *Well, it
does
have to do with eating, of course, but....well, here, let me show you."
He drew
a number of short, parallel markings in the sand. *This represents
grass,* he
said, and then drew a rather pathetic-looking representation of a
herdbeast.
*Herdbeasts eat grass, so that's the first link in the food chain.
Understand?*
The dragon bobbed her head up and down. [Yes, I always see herdbeasts
eating
grass. They're so busy eating grass most of the time that they don't
see us
coming until it's too late.]
*Right,* Trevor agreed. *Now, here's a dragon...* He drew an even more
pathetic-looking representation of a dragon in the sand, glad that his
artist
grandmother was at Keldarra Warren right now where she couldn't
critique his
drawing. *Dragons eat herdbeasts, so that's another link in the food
chain. Make
sense?*
[That's a pretty short chain, with only two links,] Trissana observed.
*Well, yeah...* Trevor agreed. *Of course, there's the matter of how
wastes
are recycled, which become nutrients that the grass feeds on, but
you're
right, those two links are the only ones you really need to worry
about.*
Trissana stared closely at the drawing. [Where are the humans?]
Trevor looked up in surprise. *What do you mean?*
[Well, what you've drawn only shows grass and herdbeasts and dragons,]
she
pointed out. [Humans must be in there somewhere.]
Trevor smiled and sat back, deciding to see how she'd respond to a
challenge.
*Well, where do you think they go?* he asked.
Trissana studied the sand drawing again for a few moments, and Trevor
was
thinking she might need a hint when suddenly she reached out with a
claw and draw
a stick-figure of a human right behind the herdbeast. It was even
worse than
Trevor's own drawings, but seemed to represent a man pu****ng a
herdbeast from
behind. He looked up at her quizzically.
[I figured out where humans go in the food chain,] she said
triumphantly.
*With the herdbeasts?* Trevor asked, figuring he would need to repeat
his
earlier lesson word for word.
[Not exactly,] she explained. [See, the human is pu****ng the herdbeast
toward the dragon. That's what humans do, isn't it? So, I figured
that's where
they're supposed to fit in the food chain. The grass grows, herdbeasts
eat the
grass, humans make sure the herdbeasts get to the dragons, and the
dragons eat
the herdbeasts.]
*Hm, but does anything eat the humans?* he asked.
[They better not!] she said resolutely.
*Hm, ok, but humans aren't at the bottom of the food chain either,* he
pointed out. *So, what do humans eat?*
Trissana stared at the drawing from every angle, and just when Trevor
was
convinced that she was stumped, she reached across and drew a huge
square below
the human figure.
*I didn't think I ate THAT much,* he commented. *What's that supposed
to be?*
[Dining hall!] she said smugly, then gave him a nuzzle. [Thank you for
the
lesson, my rider. I understand perfectly now.]
Trevor laughed and hugged her pearly muzzle, trying to think about what
different way he could use to explain "food chains" when the children
were old
enough.
Submitted by:
John
Trevor & Trissana
Cleft Warren
Summary: Evening, Day 1: Trevor and Cynthia discuss baby names in the
med
center.
Morning, Day 2: Trissana shares her bed with Trevor, where she gets him
to
explain the concept of "food chains" to her.
________________________________________________________________________
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