There are 4 messages in this issue.
Topics in this digest:
1. [DL-D] A Cold And Sleepless Night
From: trissana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
2. [DL-W]Fire and Water
From: "Edward L Murray" <elm.murray@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
3. [DL-J] Owner of a Lonely Heart
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
4. [DL-D] The Perils of Panda: Episode 2 (JP)
From: "Tree Deutscher" <treedr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 19:22:16 EDT
From: trissana@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
[DL-D] A Cold And Sleepless Night
/snip from Katie's post "The Dragons Plan"/
Jacks and Ishtar split up, both of them going to ask
other for help in this mission. They went to every
dragon that was at home or even in the skies. Asking
for help to go after the terror on there own turf.
Jacks hoped against hope that he could get help. They
needed to fight it here and now.
/end snip/
Flerrion was snoozing soundly when he felt himself being ****ged by
something
that felt like a dragon's nose. He snorted, rolled over, and went back
to
sleep. The ****ging came again, and he curled up more tightly and went
back to
sleep yet again. Even without opening his eyes, he knew it wasn't light
out, and
if it wasn't light out then it wasn't time for him to be up and around.
The next thing he knew, he felt something extremely cold on his rear
end, and
with a much louder snort he leaped to his feet. Bending his neck
around, he
saw that he had icicles hanging off his rear and and part of his tail.
He
wondered only briefly where those could have come from, and then he saw
the blue
of Ishtar's eyes ****ning in the darkness behind him.
[Wake up, sleepyhead!] she chuckled. [You're a hard one to wake up!!]
Flerrion sighed. [I don't suppose you woke me up to tell me that
Almantha's
rider has put some of those nice-tasting pies out to cool, have you?]
he asked
hopefully. [Or because you wanted someone to cuddle with?]
[No, I have come looking for some brave dragons to go on a dangerous
mission,] she told him.
Flerrion sighed again. Snatching pies could be dangerous enough, but
once
she explained what she had in mind, he opened his eyes wide.
[Snatching pies
would be a cakewalk next to this!] he told her.
Ishtar cocked her head. [Yes, but it's very im****tant....and why would
anyone want to walk on cake in the first place? But that's beside the
point, you
wouldn't want me to have to do this myself, would you?]
Flerrion decided that, no, he couldn't let her go off by herself. She
was
his friend after all, and Flerrion wasn't one to let a friend down.
[Um, ok, I
will come,] he told her, moving up alongside her. [Next time you wake
me up
in the middle of the night, though, hopefully it will be something
pleasant
like your wanting to cuddle or something?]
[I will do my best on that one,] Ishtar told him with a smile, as they
moved
quietly off into the night to rouse more dragons.
[Well, I hope I can be suitably heroic for this one,] he thought to
himself,
knowing that he had a high standard to maintain!
(Tag Katie or anyone else - Well, Flerrion's in, who else? :)
Submitted by:
John
T'rell & Flerrion
Daere Warren
Summary: After the battle (Day ?). Ishtar has to resort to a bit of
ice to
wake Flerrion up, but he agrees to come along with her and share the
danger.
[This message contained attachments]
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Message: 2
Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 16:36:17 -0700
From: "Edward L Murray" <elm.murray@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-W]Fire and Water
(Day 16 I think)
Gob enjoyed the wind flowing through his hair as he rode upon the back
of
Nightwind; the black dragon was truly now one of the biggest male
dragons
around. Where as Gob seemed to never grow any bigger. Ari once told
him
what he lacked in height he made up in heart.
Thinking of Ari he couldn't help but smile, he was glad she had come to
the
warren though lately there has been much commotion around her and the
visit
of the prince and his court. When ever Gob would ask someone what was
going
on they would simply send him out on some errand or another.
Today was no different he was being sent to check on the people that
were
forced to flee the flood. This was a task Gob had grown to enjoy for it
meant a visit with Sarah. Pav'lo sent Gob to help the villagers quite
often
saying it was good to meet the people especially if he was going to be
a
searcher. "Gob my lad to be a good searcher you need to be out among
the
people, where else you going to meet those with the dragon way."
*Oh please Pav'lo is much more rational then all that* Nightwinds voice
echoed in Gob's mind.
**Yea yea, remember big guy you're the one with the dragon memory** Gob
teased.
*Yep and don't you forget it* Nightwind dipped down then back up in a
steep
climb, hoping to drive his point home.
Though for his reward Gob laughed with glee and hollered "Let's do some
acrobatics."
Nightwinds first response was no, but then he knew how much Gob enjoyed
it.
Now that he had grown into his body, he was no longer to clumsy and
some of
the younger female dragons have come to lay with him through the night.
With
his great size however his movements were not as quick and sharp as
some of
the younger ones. *Very well strap yourself in*
The Black Dragon began to ascend to a greater height he would need some
room
for this. When he felt he was high enough he dipped down folding his
wings
back. Rider and dragon dove toward the earth below.
Gob could feel the wind try to pull his face off and wished he had a
mirror
to see what that looked like. He leaned in close to Nightwind like he
saw
the other riders do. He remembered his instructions to avoid any drag.
As
they descended Nightwind began to roll and Gob laughed as he felt his
stomach move up toward his head.
The ground was coming up rather fast and Gob could only laugh more with
excitement and a ting of fear. Then out came Nightwinds wings that
cuffed
the air and soon there were flying very fast over the river. Talons
outstretched sent waves of water up on his rider who giggled and
laughed
with glee. Nightwind couldn't help but smile at his rider.
But their flight was coming to an end up ahead was the make ****ft
village
Gob called Shady Village for all the tents. He knew it was nothing
official
but Sarah liked the name as well and the villagers now called it much
the
same.
Gob circled the town three times before landing each time showing off
just a
little until he heard Sarah yell, "Gob you little Tyrant your going to
make
the cows dry up if you don't land that dragon of yours."
With gleeful chuckle from dragon and boy the two descended gracefully
with
Gob making a dramatic dismount and bow before Sarah. He stood at last
with
hands on his hips. "Hello Sarah."
Sarah wanted to scream at Gob but instead she gave him a hug and a kiss
on
the forehead. As Gob squirmed and protested the display of emotion.
Which
brought only laughter and another hug and kiss from Sarah.
"Hey now your going to ruin my reputation as a fierce dragon rider and
seeker." Gob complained.
"Oh yes, mustn't tarnish the reputation now should we." She grinned
wickedly.
"Girls!" was all that Gob could think to respond.
*Oh face it my little buddy you like her attentions, and I would say
for a
human she would be a fine one to snuggle with* the black dragon teased
his
rider.
**Gross Nightwind, I'm not snuggling with no one. Specially a silly
girl**
thought Gob mentally replied this he couldn't help but know there was
some
truth to what Nightwind was saying. He didn't understand it, but he
truly
liked being around Sarah.
As Gob and Sarah walked over to the main tent catching up on the latest
Shady Village gossip they picked up a small band of boys that began
passing
them. Sarah was a favorite among the boys who didn't care too much for
the
outsider dragon rider and all the boys knew that John Henry had laid
claim
to Sarah's affections.
Standing nearly six feet tall with the shadow of a beard upon his face
and
arms like tree trunks stood John. Gob smiled up at the big youth trying
to
be friendly though in side he could feel the butterflies he got when he
suspected trouble. "Hello John Henry," Gob started.
"And what brings the runt from Whiteriver to John Henrys village," the
youth
eyed Gob and his hands balled into fists. He hated that Gob had named
the
village and was trying desperately to change it.
"John Henry village?" Gob looked a little stunned. "I'm sorry I thought
I
was in Shady Village, my apologizes I must have got side tracked." Gob
retorted as he placed himself between Sarah and John and readied
himself for
a likely fight.
*Let me just huff once on him that should do the trick* Nightwind
offered.
Gob giggled not realizing how that looked to everyone else. But Sarah
spoke
up then, "John Henry you know darn well why Gob is here and you don't
fool
anyone, you get going before the elders see what you're up to and
decide to
give you a thra****ng."
John looked up from Gob and over to Sarah. How could she be siding with
this
outsider who barely came up to his belt buckle? "Sarah my dear, you
should
leave such matters to the men folk."
"Well when I see a man I will," She retorted.
All the boys winced at that one and even Gob looked up at her
quizzically.
John was slightly taken back but knew this was only due to her current
company with the little demon from the warren.
"I'll forget you said that dear, though I think you should be more
careful
of the company you keep. Someday you'll be miss Henry and you'll want
to..." He started.
"John Henry!" she shouted. "The day I marry you will be the day pigs
sprout
wings and fly." With that she quickly made her way to the tent.
Gob wanted to punch John Henry but knew fighting wasn't an answer and
quickly started to follow behind Sarah. But the larger youth was
expecting
that and blocked his path. "Not you I am not done with you," John
started.
"That silly dragon of yours will not let me beat you as I should, but
you
leave Sarah alone or I'll find some way to deal with you and your
dragon."
That was just too much a threat on Nightwind was going overboard and so
Gob
knowing he couldn't kick high enough he sent a punch right into Johns
groin
which buckled the other boy over. "Never threaten my dragon." As the
other
boys started to react and come to the aid of their leader a large
shadow
flew over them and stopped them cold. Nightwind flew above them and the
large dragon didn't seem too happy.
In the main tent, Gob received his latest re****t and was offered lunch.
Sarah asked about the warren and what was happening there. Gob
explained the
visit of the prince and that there was much fuss over lady Ari.
When asked why Gob wasn't assigned to help with the Prince Gob pleaded
he
didn't know, but felt the elders where scared he might mess something
up.
Just then he spilt his drink on his leathers looking around quickly he
spied
a cloth and pulled it to clean his leather before it got to bad. What
Gob
didn't know was that the other end of the cloth was under a pitcher of
water
that tipped over when he pulled the cloth which spilled over the table
an
onto the floor the server didn't see the water and slipped his tray was
then
tossed into the air and it all came down in a loud crash. "I can't
fathom at
all why they would not wish me around." Gob looked over at the mess
wondering how that all happened and knowing some how he was at fault.
Then a
wicked thought entered Gobs head and he turned to Sarah.
"Are you busy?" Gob asked.
"Well um..." not sure how to reply seeing the intense look in Gobs
eyes.
"How would you like to go see the prince an all," Gob blurted out his
mind
racing faster then he could catch up with yet.
"Well I am not dressed for meeting a prince, and I am sure no self
respecting prince has time for a peasant farm girl Gob." Sarah replied
though she would like to see Gobs warren and the prince.
"Don't you worry now about that I have a way for you to see with out
interfering with them, trust me?" Gob winked conspiratorially.
"Why do I feel I'm going to get into trouble, but oh very well." She
replied
getting excited.
Gob went to the elders to say his good byes and Sarah left and returned
in a
legged riding dress. She had been on a flight with Gob and Nightwind
and
knew her normal dresses were not made for dragon riding.
Up into the air Nightwind brought them, then at the command of Gob they
disappeared from over the village to just above the warren. Sarah
looked
down on the warren stunned by its beauty with the little lakes and
waterfall. She also noticed the many dragons of various sizes and
colors.
The black dragon landed on a ledge that overlooked much of the warren.
Gob helped Sarah down then asked her to wait here a few minutes. The
young
lady sat near Nightwind who watched over her protectively one wing
slightly
up to give her Shade. She noticed there was activity in one of the
gardens
and she watched as best she could from so far away.
It took Gob some time but he return with a long cylinder device. "Sorry
took
me some time to find this seems it got moved from the last place I saw
it
and some how one of the book cases got knocked over, which was rather
scary
because I was no where near it at the time."
"What is this thing Gob?" she asked.
"It is a special Eye glass it lets you see far away." Gob beamed. "See
there he pointed to the garden there putting on a party there." Gob
spent
the next bit of time explaining who was who as they shared the spy
glass.
After awhile Gob set the spy glass down and looked over at Sarah. She
smiled
and beamed at Gob, "Thank you Gob for bringing me to the Warren and
showing
me your friends. This seems an almost unreal place like something out
of
someone's imagination."
"I am happy you could come, it is always fun spending time with you."
Gob
replied feeling strange somehow. That and finding he was incredibly
close to
Sarah her lips close enough he could. Not sure why Gob kissed her on
the
lips." It was quick and he blinked and blushed terribly afterwards,
only
made worse by Sarah laughing.
Trying to get this out of his mind Gob picked up the spy glass which
was
very hot from lying in the sun. To his horror he couldn't believe what
he
saw. Lady Analise dress had caught on fire. "Oh no!" Gob shouted
shocked.
Thinking quickly he handed the spy glass to Sarah. "I've got to help
I'll be
right back."
Leaping onto the Nightwind the two leaped from the ledge and dived down
to
the river. As Sarah watched people shout in alarm and try to help the
lady
get her dress extinguished. They were nearly done when Nightwind
arrived
with Gob on back from the mouth of the dragon came a gu****ng of water.
The
look on people's faces was one of total surprise as they found
themselves
wet and cold. The food, drinks sheets of music all of it was drenched.
Gob bowed to the stunned Analise as he set upon Nightwind and shouted
your
welcome. Then he soared away from the garden as several people leaped
up and
shouted at Gob. Sarah could tell that Gob was going to get in trouble
when
someone could nail him down but for now looking back at Gob. He was
proud of
his heroic effort and she didn't have the heart to tell him the fire
was
already out.
Submitted by Edward Murray
AKA
Gob rider of Nightwind
Summary
Gob goes to meet Sarah and take her to watch the party spies a fire and
swoops down taking water that quenches all around.
[This message contained attachments]
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Message: 3
Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 01:20:32 -0400
From: "Arlene" <wondermom@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-J] Owner of a Lonely Heart
Day 1
Late Afternoon
Syngnath was very worried. Several of the younger seadragons were
still
unaccounted for. Not only had the small group from the training
session
not returned, but the two others who had, were now also missing, and he
feared they'd gone to find the small party. His worry seeped through
to
Corwin as the rider sat drowsing in Hsina's medical center room.
Corwin blinked and straightened. The chair creaked in protest under
his
weight and Hsina ****fted in her bed.
<*What do you mean they are ALL missing?*>
Syngnath hesitated a moment, but admitted that the small training group
had never returned from their aborted training mission, and that Ansel
and Eliase had also gone missing.
Corwin ****fted again. He glanced at Hsina and then toward the window
before his eyes unfocussed again in human-dragon communication.
<*We have to go back. We're the only ones who know where they were.
I'm
coming... *> Corwin rose and headed for the door.
The small glass of water at the bedside fell to the floor and broke as
Hsina clumsily moved her arms to try and get up. By the time Corwin
heard the sound and turned back to face her, she was almost in a seated
position, her feet on the floor and the dense muscles in her arms
clearly straining against both weakness and her body weight.
"Where do you think you are going?" Corwin rushed back to her, putting
both hands against her shoulders and easily pu****ng her back onto her
pillow.
"You said you wouldn't leave, if it means nothing to you, it means
nothing to me," she replied as she came to a full seated position
Corwin's mouth opened and closed, then he shook his head, "No, I
meant... but I have to... the young seadragons are missing. You have
to
stay here!"
[TAG Andrew]
---
Corwin hated leaving Hsina. She was not used to being in such a
weakened state and it obviously frightened her, and though she was
trying so hard not to show it, Corwin knew.
But the young seadragons and their riders were out there and they were
counting on him! Why had they not returned to the warren? Had they
been attacked? Were they at this very moment fighting off some Kataani
attackers?
Keeza and Syngnath were resting together on the beach looking out over
the ocean, watching, when Syngnath stood up and began to head back to
the warren to meet Corwin.
[Where are you going?] Keeza demanded of Syngnath.
<To get Corwin.>
[Is he leaving?] Keeza stood up, [Hsina needs your rider!]
Syngnath quickly showed the seadragon queen the terrible tragedy that
befallen them earlier during the training session that had turned into
a
real battle, and his fear that the remainder of the party was in
danger.
<They should have returned here by now. So we are going out to find
them.>
Keeza watched Syngnath go to meet Corwin and nodded, <We.>
Corwin wished it was more than just himself going to the rescue, as his
imagination ran wild with the possibilities of what had befallen the
missing dragons and riders.
<You aren't going alone,> A disgruntled Syngnath reminded Corwin, <You
have me.>
<*Yes, of course! But... against an army?*> Corwin smacked Syngnath
good-naturedly on the side before climbing up on his back.
---
Syngnath popped into the air above the island where Syngnath had
expected the younger seadragons to be. They weren't there and he flew
higher to look for them. The air around them crackled with electricity
and storm clouds seemed to be gathering to the west. Syngnath searched
in a wider arch, sending out a mental call to Lir, Dru and Rrone.
(Here)
*We're here!*
{Over here!}
Three answers directed him toward a small island and as Syngnath turned
he saw a second shadow following him. Looking above him he saw the
black seadragon queen hovering above him.
Syngnath called to Keeza, <What are you doing here!? You should go
home!>
[TAG: Andrew.]
---
The two large seadragons approached the island. They scanned the water
below to see if there were any of the enemy lurking. The air crackled
around them as they flew toward the anxious dragons. Lightning split
the air and there was a cry of fear.
[SNIP]
The loud crack of the tree stole Dakhrau's attention in time to see
another large bolt of lightning strike the palm tree. With that
explosion, the crack, and what he thought might have been a muffled
yell Dakhrau realized the tree was coming down... towards them...
rather heavy and fast. Before he could think, he shoved Dylan away and
dove towards her to try to cover her.
Raven watched in horror as the tree snapped in half, shooting shards
of bark outwards, and sending the tree toppling onto his two
companions. He called out as the tree thundered upon hitting the
ground. It landed and even bounced twice before resting in the water
soaked sand.
[END SNIP]
Syngnath and Keeza dove toward the island as rain and hail began to
pelt
them. To their surprise they almost collided with another dragon who
was
coming in to land from another direction. Syngnath veered away just in
time to avoid cra****ng headlong into Adas.
What was he doing here? Wasn't he supposed to be searching for the
Emperor? Corwin wondered.
Corwin saw Keer throw himself off of Adas's back and run toward a still
smoldering palm tree, yelling as he went: "Dylan! Dylan!"
"Is everyone all right?" Corwin's voice boomed out, but the storm
drowned him out, wa****ng his voice out to sea.
[TAG: Alex, Andrew, Carys, Eddie and Han.]
---
Early Evening
Tyler knew that there were two people whom he did not want to see upon
his return, his wingleader, Gus, and his lover, K'mal. They would
certainly never understand why he had abandoned them and his
assignment.
It was hard enough to comprehend how his own dragon had spirited him
away without letting anyone know where he was going!
But he did have to see Corwin. Corwin needed to know how to find
Eliase
and Ansel, who ere still waiting on the deserted beach for someone to
come and relieve them.
Corwin left immediately when he heard the news from Tyler. Syngnath
got
the picture from Plastyra and they tele****ted in over the beach.
---
[SNIP]
Without even thinking about it Eliase felt herself leaning closer to
Ansel. Her eyes fluttered closed and she could feel his breath on her
lips.
Then, suddenly she felt a strong breeze and heard the flapping of
dragon
wings. She gasped and scrambled off Ansel as Corwin appeared above
them. Even more quickly she got dressed again, just in time for Corwin
to land some feet from them.
[END SNIP]
Corwin couldn't see the riders all that well in the fading light, but
he
could clearly see that they had been involved in a rather intimate
embrace, and as he landed he saw that Eliase was pulling on her outer
garments which she was quickly gathering from where they'd been
scattered on the shore.
Dismounting he approached the two riders. Ansel was looking rather
uncomfortable and Eliase was looking rather embarrassed. Corwin chose
to ignore both guilty looks and smiled warmly, "Your mission was a
success! Tyler has just returned with Dolfis and his first-mate, and
the missing item they had been sent to fetch. You can come home now
without the risk of you or your dragons accidentally informing someone
of what you knew."
"How did the battle go with the Kataani?" Ansel asked a bit nervously.
"It is over. And, although there were a lot of casualties... we won
the
day, and hopefully the entire war!"
[TAG: John and Rachel]
***
Summary:
Day 1
Late Afternoon
Corwin learns from Syngnath that the seadragons and their riders
haven't
returned to the warren, and fearing for their safety, Corwin wants to
go
to find them, leaving an upset Hsina behind.
As Syngnath approaches the island with the stranded seadragons and
riders, they notice that Keeza has accompanied them. They fly into a
strange storm, with lightning, rain and hail.
Early Evening
After Tyler returns to the warren, he informs Corwin of the location of
Ansel and Eliase. Corwin goes to find them and spots Eliase and Ansel
in
a compromising position. Ignoring their indiscretions, Corwin informs
them of the success of the mission and tells them that they can now
come
home.
---
Respectfully submitted by:
Arlene Jacobs
AKA
Corwin rider of Syngnath
Tyler Grouty rider of Plastyra
With thanks to:
Andrew F.
For Hsina's reactions.
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Message: 4
Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 23:48:09 -0700
From: "Tree Deutscher" <treedr@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Subject: [DL-D] The Perils of Panda: Episode 2 (JP)
Day 105, evening
Junior Queenriders Apartment
/snip from Tree's post/
Lazy tendrils of steam rose from the hot water swirling around the room
like ghostly fingers, as the dragonrider and his woman lay entwined in
the deep tub. Enveloped in a white cloud of foamy bubbles the heady
fragrance of spicy sandalwood created an *****c air to their
lovemaking. Hands and lips roamed freely over slippery flesh as
white-hot desire coursed through the couple.
Yet....
Intensely brilliant wolfen eyes peered over the rim of white ****celain
causing the Wingleader to tense.
"T'rell, what's wrong?" Pandora asked in a hazy confusion.
"It's staring at us!"
/end snip/
Pandora looked over and saw the gleaming eyes peering intently at her.
"Oh, look, T'rell, isn't he just adorable?"
T'rell cleared his throat. "That isn't the word I'd use," he grumbled.
"Well, he isn't hurting anything," Panda pointed out, drawing little
circles in the bubbly foam on his chest. "Surely you're not embarrassed
to have him watching us."
"I guess not, maybe he could even learn something that'll be useful
when he grows up and goes looking for a lady-wolf...ow!" T'rell rubbed
the top of his head where Panda had playfully swatted him.
"Then again, I shouldn't be surprised," the blue-eyed beauty chuckled
in a sultry tone. "I always knew you were a bit of a wolf yourself..."
T'rell decided to oblige her by giving her neck a couple of sensual
licks, wolf style. The queenrider giggled at the face the Wingleader
made a moment later when he realized that her neck, like the rest of
her, tasted like soap at the moment. However, that didn't prevent him
from using his hands to caress her in the most sensual manner. Gasping
in pleasure Pandora returned the favor, and for several minutes the two
became lost in their own little world.
Until, that is, they heard a soft growling noise next to the tub. "Oh,
T'rell, look!" Panda giggled.
T'rell's eyes opened wide. "My pants!" he cried. "It's chewing on my
pants!" Reaching over the edge of the tub he grabbed the nearest pant
leg which then resulted in a tug-of-war with the happily growling
little wolf.
"Give those back, you little stinker!" T'rell admonished the wolf,
giving a hard tug. For once the wolf-pup obeyed, letting go and causing
T'rell to tumble backwards into the tub, spla****ng water everywhere.
Panda couldn't help but laugh at the hilarious sight until she saw what
the puppy had chosen as his new playtoy. "T'rell, that's one of my good
towels! Get it back from him!"
Cursing softly under his breath, T'rell lunged halfway out of the tub
to grab the towel trying to pull it away. This of course resulted in
another tug-of-war. "Oh T'rell, please be careful, I really don't want
it torn!"
The soap covered T'rell, who was at the moment hanging halfway over the
rim of the tub, looked back at her in surprise - and in that second the
wolf gave a very hard tug that pulled the soap-slick wingleader right
out of the tub and onto the floor.
"Aaargh, I'm gonna kill that wolf!" T'rell yelled, charging out of the
bathroom in hot pursuit of the fleeing wolf-pup, stark ****d. When he
dashed out into the main room, he saw that Almantha still had her head
and neck protruding in through the entrance. The queen raised her head
snorting a mixture of steam and draconic laughter into the room.
<You need to spend more time chasing that wolf around!> she teased,
enjoying any op****tunity to heckle the wingleader. <You're getting
pudgy, you know!>
T'rell, despite trying to catch the wolf, managed to detour close
enough to the queen to smear soapsuds across her nose. She snorted
indignantly as he swerved to try and cut off the pup's line of retreat.
Panda, meanwhile, had come out of the bathroom as well, although she at
least had thought to wrap a towel around herself. She tried to keep it
in place, but when she ran it kept coming open at the front the view
drawing the Wingleader's eye. "Chase him over here!" she told T'rell.
"I'll catch him!"
Despite the shapely diversion T'rell did just that, but the cub managed
to dart between Panda's legs even as she reached down to try to pick
him up. She whirled and lunged to try and snag him, but forgot that
Almantha was right behind her. The wolf darted under Almantha's chin,
while Pandora sprawled across the queen's neck. <Oh, this is
wonderful!> the queen gurgled happily. <I knew that you'd want to go
flying with me sooner or later!> And she began to withdraw her head
through the entrance, Panda and all.
Realizing what was happening Pandora let out a wild shriek that would
have put a banshee to shame.
T'rell, seeing a fair damsel being menaced (well, sort of) by a
somewhat nasty (in his opinion) dragon, wasted no time in ru****ng
forward to his lady's rescue. *Let go of her, you big stinker!* he told
Almantha, trying to grab hold of her nose. Unfortunately, two things
happened at once.
First, Almantha sucked in a deep breath, intending to give T'rell her
customary steam-bath - and in so doing, she sucked T'rell right up
against her nose. Second, even though the wingleader was only just too
big for her to inhale, the soap bubbles that still covered much of him
were not. The queen got a snootful of soap bubbles, and just as she was
ready to give T'rell the steam treatment, her eyes went wide and she
expelled a thunderous sneeze. <Ooooh, you dumb
human...AAAAAAA-CHOOOOOO!!!!!>
The force of the blast lifted T'rell bodily and blew him right across
the room, to land in one of Panda's good chairs - which fortunately,
T'rell saw, wasn't damaged. That changed just a second later when the
little wolf jumped up on his lap and the Wingleader felt a suspicious
warmth flowing across him. "Ah, crap!!" he said, although that wasn't
precisely what the wolf had done, and he wondered if Panda would be mad
at him because of the yellow stains that would surely be left behind on
her chair. He shooed the wolf off and went back to try and help Panda.
Outside, Flerrion had been standing just behind the queen trying to see
what was going on inside, when the force of Almantha's sneeze likewise
propelled her back a couple of steps. The queen's rear end collided
with Flerrion and knocked him right back out onto the ledge. He shook
his head to clear it, then sprang up and launched himself across to
Galendriel's ledge. It seemed like a good time to go and pay his
respects.
He had unfortunately forgotten that Galendriel was in the hatching
cavern, so he found himself standing there by himself. He wondered if
he should go back over to Almantha's ledge, but when he heard the
commotion going on inside he decided to crouch down and make himself as
inconspicuous as possible.
Meanwhile, Almantha let out one more sneeze which forced T'rell to hit
the floor to avoid the blast. It also bounced Panda upward so that she
landed sprawled onto the queen's neck. Her large bathtowel, which had
been wrapped around her, came loose and fluttered down onto her like a
small blanket. She desperately tried to grab at the towel with one hand
while clutching at the queen's neck with the other.
T'rell, meanwhile, used the moment to scoot under the queen and get
behind her. *Flerrion, I need you to push her back into...Flerrion?* He
looked around the outer apartment, suddenly realizing that the crimson
dragon was nowhere in sight. Nor could T'rell see him out on the ledge.
He cursed softly, having expected Flerrion to provide the necessary
force to push Almantha back to her starting point so that Panda could
safely dismount.
Knowing that this was probably not a good idea but having run out of
options, he pushed against the base of the queen's tail. *Hold it right
there!* he ordered her.
Terrified by Almantha's lurching body Pandora clung to the neck spikes
for dear life, the bath towel haphazardly slipping off with each jerk.
Any embarrassment she might have felt was replaced by a paralyzing fear
as the queen rose to back out of the cave. The jagged edges of the rock
ceiling grew closer and the wild beating of her heart pounded in her
ears drowning out everything around her. As the floor moved farther
away strange frightening images began to swim before her eyes and the
dark-haired woman cringed instinctively.
A jerking side step from the queen brought a cry of terror and a sharp
stabbing pain in her arm that disappeared as fast as it had appeared,
yet she was too afraid to let go to check it. Suddenly a familiar
crooning from within brought comforting warmth, *Calm yourself Pandora.
I'm here now.* The voice whispered in the recesses of her mind. *You
must be brave child, no more tears...* Taking a deep breath the
Queenrider did her best to clear her mind of the haunting words that
assailed her.
She had to stay calm, T'rell would save her, he always did. He was her
knight in ****ning armor. A flash of flesh as the Wingleader dodged
around the queen made her blink in surprise. He may be ****ny, but he
certainly wasn't wearing any armor at the moment. Almantha moved
blocking her view and the metallic scales pinched her tender flesh with
each movement. *ALMANTHA, ow, stop, ow, stop please!* she croaked out
in a sob, a wave of relief wa****ng over her at the sound of T'rell's
demands for the queen to obey.
Almantha glared down at the puny human. [Go away my rider wants to be
with me!] The sensation of having her soulmate across her back spurred
the young queen on. She wanted to go flying with her rider more then
anything and wasn't about to give her up that easily. Snorting at the
Wingleader, she stomped her foot at the man, a threatening rumble
coming from her throat, <She's mine, you just go away! You promised to
get her to go with me and you didn't do it, so now I am!" Half sticking
her tongue out at the man the copper dragon wiggled backward even more
bringing a high pitched squeak from the woman on her back.
T'rell realized that he wasn't going to be able to stop her bare handed
but then noticed something that he thought would help him. He dove for
the coils of rope that had been left by the outer wall of the
dragon-apartment after his earlier failed attempt to get Panda to go
dragon flying. Now he had another use for it. He grabbed one of the
ropes, and quickly fa****oned the end into a lasso. Dropping that one,
he took another piece of rope and did likewise, just as Almantha had
managed to back herself out of the entrance and was doing a turnaround
with the terrified Panda still clinging to her neck. He managed to slip
one of the lassos around the end of Almantha's tail just as the queen
was hurrying past him, and then tied the other end to a handy
outcropping of rock.
Then he picked up the other lasso and twirled it around and around over
his head as he raced after the queen. "Panda, grab hold!" he cried as
he flung the lasso at the reluctant queenrider.
Almantha, realizing she was about to lose her prize huffed wildly at
the Wingleader filling the cavern den with a cloud of warm mist
blocking the humans view. Enveloped in the wet fog Pandora felt the
rope drop across her back but was too afraid reach for it. Feeling it
sliding downward she kicked frantically trying to stop it but instead
caused it to loop around her leg. The loop tightened around her ankle,
she cried out for T'rell to stop and a tug of war ensued as Almantha
raised herself even higher and the Wingleader tugged one way while the
Queenrider held on tightly sure her foot was about to be torn off.
"Hold on Panda I have you!" He yelled through the white haze over
Almantha's loud snorts and hisses.
"Oh No T'rell! Wait a....." Pandora cried out.
The steam cleared a bit just as T'rell gave a hard yank, the lover's
eyes locked in shocked surprise as Pandora suddenly found herself
flying...the hard way.
T'rell had only an instant to react, as he caught his first glimpse of
Panda hurtling toward him through the cloud of steam. He let the rope
drop from his hands just in time to throw his arms around her as she
flew into him. Her momentum bowled him over backwards and he absorbed
the impact for both of them as he hit the sandy floor. He saw stars for
a moment, and as they cleared the first thing he saw was Panda's eyes
looking worriedly into his own.
"I've done died and gone to Heaven," he murmured groggily, content to
lie there and gaze into Panda's eyes forever with her body warm against
his. He didn't even notice as the large bath towel fluttered down to
settle over her once again as if mocking them. He did notice, however,
when a pair of dragon-sized golden eyes became visible through the
steam, glaring at him.
"Um, forget the 'heaven' part," he muttered as he forced himself back
up. T'rell swept Panda into his arms as the startled queenrider tried
to wrap the towel around herself again. He made a dash with her toward
the small door that led into the inner apartment. "Forget the damn
towel!" he yelled gauging their distance to safety..
<Hey, not so fast!!> Almantha huffed, and the floor shook as the queen
bounded after them. <My rider and I are going flying NOW!!>
T'rell saw that they weren't going to make the door at the rate the
queen was gaining on them, so he did the only thing he could think of -
he swerved at a right angle and dashed instead for the outer entrance.
But Almantha moved more quickly than he thought she would, and dipped
her head right in front of them so that the next thing they knew both
were sprawled across her nose.
<Hah! Now I got ya, and we're going flying! Yaay!!> The queen turned
again and charged toward the outer entrance giving the humans no chance
to escape. T'rell clutched Panda tightly, wondering what would happen
when the queen reached the end of the rope that was still lassoed
around the base of her tail.
[..] Outside Pandora's apt
Unable to contain his curiosity Flerrion moved back to the younger
queens ledge to peer into the opening to watch the goings on of his
rider, his bulk blocking the entrance to the cave.
[..] A rocky overhang on the other side of the Warren.
For some reason, which he couldn't comprehend, Samson had become
extremely in tuned to Almantha's moods and her caterwalling. Maybe it
was because the bratty queen was joined to his favorite human, or maybe
that they were joined to matched siblings he wasn't sure. Whatever the
reason at times it was downright irritating and really grated on his
nerves, like now for instance. Lifting his majestic head the crimson
giant looked around, the yellow gaze coming to rest on his human's
dwelling. Yawning and seeing Flerrions hind end sticking out of
Almantha's entrance, his eyes narrowed in curiosity. The rapidly
twitching tail of his red brethren let Samson know something was up.
Lifting his snout he sniffed the air. Hmmm...there was none of his
favorite smells, but it was obvious something was up. Dropping from his
perch the big male glided smoothly across the warren to land easily
next to Flerrion. Shoving and pu****ng his snout in along the red neck
he could see little but a cloud!
of steam and hear the all too familiar huffing of the copper queen.
[Hey buddy what's going on?] He asked again, sniffing the air for
Pandora's goodies.
**I think Almantha's rider is going flying and I guess my rider is
going along too.** Flerrion answered flatly.
[WHAT?] Samson replied jerking his head up so fast he banged it on the
top of the cave. [OWWWW!!!]
Samson's pained roared alerted Almantha and she immediately growled at
the two males barring her way. <Back off ya meatheads! My rider and I
are going flying!>
*Almantha, please......* Pandora begged silently praying that T'rell
wouldn't let go.
<Oh no rider! Pudgy boy promised, and a promise is a promise! And as
soon as Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dummer get out of the way, we're outta
here!>
*But...but...*
[You know she really is a pain in the tail!> Samson snorted at his
crimson sidekick.
Flerrion nodded so vigorously he almost bumped his head too. **So what
do you think we should do?**
<GET OUT OF MY WAY YA BIG DOPES!> Almantha roared charging the
entrance.
The two males craned their necks to look at each other and with a sigh
backed out leaving the entrance open just as the rope went taut.
Almantha's forward progress came to a sudden halt, and she rebounded
backwards to land on her tail. T'rell and Pandora, however, kept moving
forward. "AAAAAAAHHH!" the two cried in unison as they flew out of the
entrance as though they had been dragons themselves. Had this been
anything other than a ground-floor queenrider's apartment, the
resulting plunge would surely have sent them to their deaths. As it
was, they had just enough height and velocity working against them that
the best they could have hoped for was to be given adjoining beds in
the med center during their protracted stay. But there was one other
factor working in their favor at that moment - well, actually two - the
fact that Flerrion and Samson had leaned right back in their path.
The completely unclothed T'rell landed across Samson's nose, just as he
had been on Almantha's nose seconds earlier. "Good catch," he told the
big red dragon somewhat dazedly.
[Anytime,] said Samson. [Uh, I don't have any idea what's going on
here. Do I want to know?]
*The Brat is involved, is there anything more to know?* T'rell
countered. Samson shook his head, forgetting T'rell's position
momentarily, until the wingleader's swearing as he clutched desperately
to the dragon's nose made Samson realize he'd better hold still.
Panda, meanwhile, looked in danger of actually hitting the ground when
a pair of dragon jaws snapped shut on the end of the towel that was
still semi-wrapped around her. The sudden arresting of her momentum
almost made her spin out of the enfolding towel, but she clutched
desperately at it and stopped herself. *Thank you, Flerrion,* she told
her rescuer as her feet finally touched the ground. A bit dazed she
still struggled to cover as much of herself as possible with the
available ****tion of the towel if only to salvage what little dignity
she had left
[My pleasure,] Flerrion told her. [Say, when you get back inside, is
there any chance you're going to be making any more of those pies? Not
the green ones, mind you, but the red ones are very nice, and Ishtar
says she likes the ones that taste like apples..]
Holding the towel with one hand Panda patted the red snout
affectionately with the other, "My scaly hero," she sighed gratefully,
glad that she and T'rell were both unharmed, it could have definitely
been a lot worse. "Flerrion, I do believe you've earned yourself a big
reward. Maybe a few special pies are in order?"
Suddenly another object came hurtling out of the entrance. The small
bundle of fur pranced excitedly, and with a bound was on Panda's
shoulder causing her to yelp at the sharp claws digging into her bare
flesh. The wolf-cub wasn't about to be excluded from all this fun, and
he recognized the chance of a lifetime for a game of tug-of-war!
Growling excitedly, his little snapping jaws grabbed at the end of the
towel that hung suspended from Flerrion's teeth, and began to tug.
[Oh, so you wanna play, do you?] Flerrion laughed, and he proceeded to
give the towel a good shaking of his own. The wolf cub loved this, but
Panda did not. "Oh no.......FLERRION!" She cried out as she rocked
precariously beneath the ongoing tug-of-war, unsure she was even
bothering to hold on to the towel at this point.
The second thing that emerged from the entrance was an even less
welcome sight. Once Almantha had realized what had happened, it was no
great effort for the queen to break the single rope and come bounding
out onto the ledge.
[HEY, YOU GIVE HER BACK, YOU RIDER-STEALER!!] she ordered Flerrion.
Reacting instinctively, Flerrion did the only sensible thing - he
turned tail, with the queen in hot pursuit.
"Ah, damn," said T'rell to Samson. *We'd better go help her!*
Flerrion flipped his head in his hurry to escape and even thought the
pup held on Pandora could not and she spun out of control towards the
big red male and the man. "Uh, I take that back," T'rell added reaching
out to catch the twirling woman, "I got the girl, maybe you'd better go
help him.* He added nodding towards the fleeing Flerrion, the swinging
wolf cub still hanging firmly to his end of the towel.
Respectfully submitted by,
John Pepper AKA T'rell & Flerrion
AND
Tree Deutscher AKA Pandora, Almantha & Samson
Daere Warren
***Summary***
Day 105 Evening
Enjoying a leisurely bath Pandora and T'rell are interrupted by the new
wolf puppy and one thing leads to another as Samson and Flerrion save
the human's from Almantha's wrath.
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