It had been a rather eventful night so far. The Lizonians seemed to be more active than usual and Erik could only figure it was because of the full moon. Still, they had not been this active in a long time. What was it that make them more troublesome tonight than all the others.

~Erik….I smell Lizonian blood. I’m going down to take a closer look…be ready.~

Hearing Mina’s voice in his mind, Erik pulled his bow and knocked an arrow to get ready for just about anything. As Mina leaned to the right and tucked her wings, Erik leaned forward in the saddle to make her as aerodynamic as possible. The descent was fast and it brought a smile to his lips. When Mina grew closer to the ground she spread her wings and slowed her speed so she and Erik could take a closer look at what it was she picked up on.

As they passed over the farmstead they could see the dead Lizonians laying on the ground and saw a couple others scurrying for cover as they quickly abandoned the fight. Mins turned and made another swoop and as she passed by this time she leaned slightly to the left allowing Erik to fire off some bolts at the retreating Lizonians. His bolts were true and he heard their reptilian screams as they were struck. One more pass to make sure they were dead, Mina landed a few yards from the farmstead and Erik easily slid off her powerful body.

Carefully approaching the farmstead, Erik saw that someone had made quick work of the creatures already. The slices were clean like a swords slice. With a quick check around the place he saw it was abandoned now. It didn’t appear as though anyone had been taken prisoner so he could only guess the survivors had left to find help or hide.

Making his way back to Mina, the knight easily pulled himself up into the saddle and nodded his head.

“Let’s go girl.”

Mina bent her powerful legs, stretched out her massive wings and leapt into the air flapping her wings to gain height so she could let the natural wind currents take over. Once airborne, the dragon began a circling pattern starting out small then working her grid wider until she caught sight of what they were looking for.

~I don’t see where they went, Erik…..~

”It’s OK, Mina….maybe they made it to that village.”

Mina took to the air a little higher once more and started her gliding on the air currents once more. Erik looked out over the horizon letting the full moon illuminate the ground for him. Between Mina’s excellent eye sight and other senses coupled with his own eagle like eyesight, Erik didn’t worry about not seeing anything he needed to see.

By the time the sun rose, Erik and Mina were getting ready to head back to their base of operations when Mina picked up on something below.

~Erik….Lizonians below….moving in on a lone rider.~

Before Erik even got the words all the way out of his mouth, Mina was rolling to her left and tucking her wings for another descent.

Unknown to the rider and her four legged companions, a group of Lizonians had picked up on the scent of the horse and were moving in from three sides to force her to the edge of a waterfall cliff. By the time Erik and Mina moved in closer, the rider’s horse had finally picked up o the scent of the Lizonians and snorted alerting the rider to the danger that now existed.

The rider thought to first stand her ground but when she saw the number of Lizonians around her; she knew she was far outnumbered. There was but one thing to do. Run. Putting her heels into the horses sides, the horse took off like a shot. The rider leaned close to the horses neck to aid in the flight and the dog ran alongside and kept up with the horse and rider.

As Erik and Mina made the first pass to assess the situation and allow Erik to fire off a few bolts at the Lizonians, another issue came to light. The rider was headed straight for Drakkar Falls. A 300 foot drop into jagged rocks below. As Mina quickly pulled up and turned to make another pass, Erik realized the Lizonians were purposely forcing the rider in that direction. The realization of what they were doing caught the knight by surprise.

”I’ll be damned…”

As Mina came by for the second pass, the Lizonians were ready for her and threw some spears and got off a few arrows at her but they did no damage to the hard, scaled hide. As she pulled up for her third pass, she saw how close the rider was to the falls.

~The Falls are too close….the rider won’t have time to rein the horse in.~

Erik saw what Mina was talking about.

”Well then….there’s only one thing for us to do, isn’t there?”

~Last time we did that we both got an earful fro the Commander.~

Erik furrowed his brows.

”Then I suppose we’ll get another ear full from him. We don’t have a choice, Mina….”

Mina made a wide sweep to her left and descended even lower. This would bring her in from the right of the falls and to the right of the rider. Knowing their timing had to be just right; Mina adjusted her air speed so she wasn’t too slow or too fast.

As the rider approached the falls, she didn’t realize just how close she was and before she knew what was happening, her horse leapt off the cliff side and started the sheer drop down, her dog following along for the death leap.

The next thing the rider knew was that she landed with a rather bone jarring thud and her left forearm being held in the tight grip of the dragon riders right hand as he grimaced to hold onto her and not let her go. As she looked around she realized she was now on the back of the dragon with the rider. Regaining her senses, she quickly scrambled to right herself on the back of the dragon behind the rider.

On the other side of the expanse of water the falls dropped into, the dragon found a clearing and landed. Erik quickly released his legs from the special stirrups and slid off Mina’s back then reached up to help the woman down.

”Sorry about that. Are you alright Miss?”

Behind the dragon the woman’s horse and dog came scurrying looking like they were frightened beyond words. Mina looked down at the woman then back to her four legged companions then back to the woman.

~Do tell her I was most gentle with her animals. She looks a bit….upset.~

Erik looked up at Mina and instead of using his voice to talk to her, used is mind causing his eyes to glow a soft, light blue color.

~I will….I just hope she isn’t that mad at us.~

Mina bowed her head in response to the woman’s heart felt thank you then settled down for a quick rest. On the other hand, Erik thought the woman had hit her head or something as she spoke of the rider form her vision. While Erik knew there were such things that existed, he didn’t take them too seriously since most of the times the ones who spoke of them were half out of their mind.

But this woman seemed to have all of her faculties about her and here she was speaking of a vision. He listened to her explain her vision and merely nodded his head. He didn’t believe in such things but if it made her feel better, he would allow her to think what she wanted. But he knew what she meant about being the riders aid. He was about the only one that DIDN’T have one yet. While he knew they were a huge asset o the ground, he also knew they could be problematic as well. Not to mention he liked being a solo act. And why did he have to have a female one?

“Well…I’m Erik Jordon and this here is Mina. We were just on our way back to our base when we saw what was happening back there. That’s the first time I’ve seen them organize like that. We’ve got about another three miles before we get there. You wanna cover that one foot right now or you wanna hitch a ride with us?”

Mina looked down at Erik and his eyes glowed that same soft blue when she spoke to his mind.

~I don’t think the animals would appreciate that.~

Erik gave Mina a look that spoke volumes as he spoke back to her mind.

~Do YOU want to wait for her to get there or do you want to go back to your cave and get some sleep as soon as we get there? Don’t know about you but I’m very ready for my bed.~

Mina looked over at Shiloh and the animals then nodded.

~Good point.~

The massive dragon stood up them and prepared to take off either way. Erik looked back at Shiloh then and gave a charming smile waiting for her answer.

Erik nodded and walked back to Mina, easily climbing into the saddle. As Mina crouched down, she leapt into the air and flapped her large, leathery wings to gain altitude. Once she was on the air currents, she glided along doing lazy circle patterns in the air. Erik let the dragon glide along at her own pace and when she would bank to make her turn he would look down to see Shiloh and her animal companions below.

~She’s very pretty, Erik. Don’t you think?~

Erik furrowed his brow.

“I suppose.”

~You’re upset about the fact your aid is female? You shouldn’t let that bother you. Many riders have female aids.~

“Yeah….I know…I guess I just wasn’t expecting to have an aid yet…and I was sort of hoping not to get a female one. They tend to need to talk a lot. I don’t like to talk.”

~You talk to me.~

“Well yeah….”

~So what’s the difference?

“Well, for starters, I’ve known you just about all my life and all of yours. It’s different with you. I mean, you’re Mina….a dragon. She’s a human….female….I would actually have to talk to her about things other than what we talk about.”

~We talk about everything.

Erik’s frown deepened then.

“You’re supposed to be on my side, Mina.”

~I AM on your side, Erik. There is more to life than strategic planning, weapons practice and reading. Now you have no choice but to interact with another human being on a regular basis. You need to work with her to teach her everything she will need to learn. And her animal companions will need to learn not to fear my scent. Or presence. Yes…..I foresee many hours of practice ahead of both of you. I’m quite delighted indeed.~

Erik muttered under his breath.

“Glad one of us is.”

The base command came into view and Mina began to make her approach. Tucking her wings, the dragon descended and spread her wings at the last moment then landed gently on the ground. Laying her massive form on the ground to allow Erik to dismount, she rose back up to a seated position and turned her head to see Shiloh coming into view.

Erik unstrapped his saddle from Mina’s body and glanced over at Shiloh as she came into camp. Pulling the saddle free from Mina’s body, he began walking over to a small building that had a crest over the door that matched the crest on the saddle he was carrying.

Mina looked over at Erik and if a dragon could have smiled, she would have been. As she spoke to Erik, the man’s eyes glowed that soft blue color once more, matching the same glow from Mina’s eyes.

~Remember, she’s here to aid you so do be nice to her.~

With that, the dragon once more took to the air and headed to the mountain to the east then disappeared over a ridge as she returned to her lair. Erik watched her leave, never taking his eyes off the dragon until he disappeared. When he turned back around to look at Shiloh, he was still wearing that hard look he had when he looked at Mina.

“Welcome to home sweet home. I’ll put this saddle up and I’ll show you to your quarters.”

Kicking the door to the building open, Erik walked inside and set the saddle down on a brace. The building was small, about 10X10 and contained his saddle and many different weapons within. All of the metal weapons sparkled, indicating they were indeed cleaned and had been put away neatly. When he came out of the building, he closed the door behind him then gestured for Shiloh to follow him. As she moved along with him, he explained the camp to her.

The base command camp was exactly what the name implied. A tall stone wall enclosed the camp from the wide open area of the valley they were in. Where Erik’s building was located there were 49 more just like them, each containing a different crest over the door. Behind the individual buildings were a pair a two story stone building where the riders were housed. One was for males and one for females. Each rider had their own living quarters, each having three separate rooms. A den, a study and a bedroom. Within the bedroom was a large tub off to the far side and a fire place in each room with the exception of the bedroom. There were two fire places in that room. One next to the tub and the other on the opposite wall. The riders quarters was set up close to their weapons shed so they could easily collect them in the event of an emergency on their way to their dragon who would be waiting for them.

The camp itself was rather large as it needed to have enough area of 200 yards X 200 yards for the dragons to land to collect their riders. On the other side of the landing area for the dragons was a series of larger buildings. One was obviously the dining hall. The smoke that billowed from the chimney and the wonderful smells of cooking food that drifted their way were dead give a ways.

As Erik showed Shiloh around, several of the other riders would stop and grin as they walked by. Some would give Erik a thumbs up sign, others would raise their brows then wink at Erik as they nodded. To say the least it was irritating the man to no end. Had they never seen a woman before? The more they did that, the more aggravated Erik was becoming.

One building was larger than the riders quarters but had the same basic design. Erik explained this was where the officers were kept. On the opposite side of the dining hall were two similar buildings like the riders quarters with a stable between the buildings. One building was for the female aids and one was for the male aids. Their horses were housed in the stable between the two buildings.

Once Erik helped Shiloh get her horse squared away in an empty stall, he walked her to the female aid quarters and stopped at the door.

“No males are permitted past the door. Same goes for the females at the male’s quarters. If you need to talk to someone of the opposite sex in one of those buildings, get a fellow male aid or rider to get the person for you. The officers are strict about no fraternization between the males and females. It makes things too complicated and causes problems. Get yourself squared away in your room. Mrs. Winston is the dorm manager. She’ll show you to your room. Tell her you are my new aid. I’ve been on patrol all night and I need to get some rest. I’ll come get you at dusk. Mina and I do night patrols and we’ll begin training tonight.”

With that, Erik turned on his heel and strode away leaving Shiloh to her own devices. While he wasn’t out right rude, he wasn’t exactly accommodating either. Luckily for him he could blame it on being tired but what about when he comes to get her tonight? Bah…he’d cross that bridge when he got there. Right now all he had on his mind was getting out of this armor, soaking in a hot bath then burying himself under the soft sheets of his bed and passing out for the next few hours.

And that’s just exactly what he did.

Shiloh and Sampson walked into the female aids's quarters and looked around. It wasn't very femimine, but that was okay. It looked homey enough. A day room off to the left with places to sit, books to read, puzzles to work. She went on down the hall and saw that further on down was the dining area. It was small, but clean. She went around the corner to the kitchen, smelling something cooking. Her stomach rumbled. That was she heard the screach.

"WHAT IS THAT BEAST DOING IN MY HOUSE?!" Shiloh turned around to see an older woman of about 50, plump, graying hair pulled back into a severe bun, her mouth was a hard line and her hands, more like fists, were on her ample hips. She stalked towards Shiloh and Sampson, her glaring gaze darting back and forth between the two of them.

"That beast is not staying in this house, young lady! It can sleep outside with the rest of the filthy beasts, aid or not." Mrs. Winston gaze dared Shiloh to say something.

Shiloh's gray eyes turned a stormy gray as she glared back at woman. She tried to be nice and took a couple of deep breaths, calming herself. "Mrs. Winston, Sampson has been with me since he was a pup and sleeps with me. If he's not welcome here, then I would assume that neither am I."

Mrs. Winston harrumphed at both of them. "Then you assume correctly if you think that I am going to allow that beast and it's fleas to set one foot into this dwelling. If you must, then sleep outside with it, for it will not sleep in here."

"He doesn't have fleas!," Shiloh exclaimed back. She couldn't believe this woman. "And he's not an 'it', he's a dog and his name is Sampson!" Shiloh was becoming angry now and decided that maybe it would be best if she just went and got RainStorm and the three of them slept outside, together.

"I'm sorry that he's not acceptable to you, Mrs. Winston. We will leave your home and find accomodations elsewhere." With that, she and Sampson, who bared his teeth at the older woman, causing her to take step back, fanning herself, walked back down the hallway past the audience of other aids who were all grining and sneering at her. ~Great, just great. Now I'm the laughing stock of the place and I haven't even been for a full day.~

She made it to the stables, had another argument with the stablemaster, but finally got RainStorm out with her tack and rode out to the forest, just beyond the gates. She found a small stream to make camp by and prepared to settled down for a bit. She wasn't about to go to Eric and act like a whining woman. Besides, he had been exhausted and he'd made it clear in the way he'd spoke to her as well as his actions that he didn't truly want an aid. By the time he'd left her at the female aid's quarters, she'd felt as if she was more of a nuisance to him then anything.

Sighing, she made sure that RainStorm and Sampson were okay where they were and sat, leaning up against a tree, thinking about Mrs. Winston. The only thing that had kept her from verbally tearing into her was what her father and instilled in her. Respect your elders, especially in their homes.

Thinking about her father, she became homesick, thinking of him and her friend, Sheala. She wondered how they were doing. Whether or not Sheala and her father were going to make it back to their home.

She closed her eyes leaning up against the tree, wondering what in the hell she was going to do now.

The next thing Shiloh knew she was being awakened by a shake of her shoulder. When she opened her eyes, she realized two things: It was dusk and Erik was kneeling beside her with a deep frown creasing his forehead and causing his lips to droop.

”Imagine my surprise when I heard my new aid left to seek shelter out in the woods. The most dangerous place she could go. And when I found you, you were so sound asleep a Lizonian could have easily come upon you and slit your throat before you could have drawn a weapon.”

Standing up, he rose to his full 6’5” height and looked around. Giving a disapproving grunt, he looked back down at her, crossing his arms over his chest.

”Get up and get your things. Get back to the base camp and secure your things in your room as I instructed you to do earlier.”

When he saw her open her mouth to say something, he held his hand up to stop her.

”I don’t want to hear it. I’ve already spoken to Mrs. Winston. Apparently she has an issue with your dog. Leave him in the stable with your horse. He will be well taken care of. Those are the rules. If you don’t like them, you’re free to leave any time you wish. Trust me, I won’t be upset.”

He turned to leave and took a few steps before he turned back around.

”I’ll wait for you in the clearing on the other side of these trees. If I hear you head for the camp, I’ll know you’ve decided to stick it out. If I hear you go in the opposite direction, Mina and I will make sure you get back home safely.”

When he walked away this time, his foot falls were heavy indicating he was not the least bit happy over what happened. When he reached Mina, he paced back and forth to try and vent the anger he felt. His eyes glowed that soft blue as he spoke with Mina using his mind.

~How the hell could she have been so stupid, Mina? She knows how dangerous it is out here. I think this is a bad idea, having her as my aid. Obviously she doesn’t know the rules of being an aid. If she did, she would have stayed within the walls of the camp. Dammit….why do I have to suffer with a stubborn female aid?~

Mina sat patiently and watched Erik pace back and forth. Her massive head would slowly turn left then right as her companion moved back and forth before her. Hearing him vent his frustration, she couldn’t help but chuckle softly.

~Her animal companions are more than pets to her, Erik. Surely you can relate. You don’t think of me as an animal OR a pet. Thank goodness. But still…her bond with her animals are no less than the bond we share. And she is no more stubborn than you are.~

Erik stopped his pacing and turned to face the dragon with a look of aggravation on his face again. Before he could say anything, Mina spoke again.

~You need to explain things to her. She’s not going to know everything she needs to know with the snap of a finger. You didn’t. She’s no different. Work with her. Teach her the rules. It’s the only way she will learn and the only way she will be as good at what she does as you are.~

Erik stood there and glared at Mina curling his hands into fists and relaxing his fingers over and over. Finally he threw his hands up in the air in utter defeat.

”Gods I wish I had a male dragon right now!”

Mina threw her head back and laughed causing the ground the rumble and the air to be filled with a growl.

~But you don’t and that’s what makes this so much fun.~

”Fine. We’ll wait to see what she decides. If she decides to come back, we’ll start at the beginning.

Resolving himself to having Shiloh as his aid, Erik climbed into the saddle and waited to see what the young woman was going to do.

Shiloh sat there, listening to Erik reprimand her, rather harshly, she thought. When he told her he didn't want to hear her side of the story, she began to get angry.

As he walked away, Shiloh didn't know whether or not to rant or cry. She was hurt, angry, homesick, and humiliated all at once. She'd been raised to overcome such emotions, but so many bombarding her at one time made it difficult. Sampson whined at her, his wet nose nudging her arm as RainStorm nibbled at her hair, both animals giving her comfort.

She finally rose, gathered her things and walked towards Erik and Mina. Seeing him sitting astride Mina his face still angry, she faltered. ~To think, I thought him handsome~, she thought to herself. She didn't know what to do. Sampson had never been away from her since she'd raised him from a pup and he wasn't going to be now.

She walked up to the dragon and rider, her eyes shining with unshed tears at everything that had happened so far, but a hard glint was in them, as well.

"Now, rider," she says with a sneer, "let me tell you my rules where my companions are concerned, and believe me when I tell you that they are my companions, not my pets." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I understand that RainStorm has to sleep in the stables, he's simply too big to stay in my room with me." Her gray eyes stared into Erik's. When he went to speak, it was her turn to hold up her hand to him, "You will give me the same courtesy I gave you and allow me to finish." She lowered her hand, "But, Sampson is small enough to sleep with me, in my room as he has done every night since he was five weeks old. If this is unacceptable, then fine, I will sleep with my companions in RainStorms stable. And, it this is not even acceptable, then I will leave, but it is not home I will go to, it will be my own journey. Those are MY rules where MY companions are concerned." She laid her hand on top of Sampson's head as RainStorm stood behind her, both animals glaring at Erik as if they knew who had caused their mistress to become upset and angry. "By the way, Sampson has never had fleas nor ticks for that matter. I put a special herb in his food every day specifically to repel the fleas and ticks from the inside out."

She stood there, seeing the anger turning his face red, but she stayed her ground, as she'd been taught to do, waiting to see what he would say.

Erik had never had a woman talk to him like this before. At first, he was utterly taken aback by her actions let alone the way she talked to him. If she thought he was angry before, it was nothing compared to what he was feeling now. The more she made her demands, the more his face showed his emotion. By the time she was done, he was seething and quite ready to jump down off Mina and turn her over his knee to show her just exactly what he thought of her rules. Just as he made the decision to do just that, Mina stood up making the distance between himself and the ground a long jump, even for him. His eyes glowed as Mina began communicating with him.

~No, Erik. I will not let you touch this woman. What she said is nothing short of what you ordered her to do. I told you her animals are more than mere pets and you should honor that fact. Allow some compromise to this or I will take her away from here and you will not be worried by her again. And I don’t think you want to tell the commander why your dragon took your aid to an undisclosed location.~

Erik clenched his jaw hard causing the muscles to bulge as he glared down at Shiloh. Why or WHY was he strapped with this unruly woman and her damn animals. There was no doubt he was seriously debating what ever it was Mina had told him as he sat there, hands curled into tight fists. Finally he relaxed his jaw and nodded as his eyes began to glow once more.

~Fine. I won’t lay a hand on her. And I will give some compromise to her rules. THIS time.~

Mina nodded her head and slowly eased back down to her relaxed state allowing Erik to slide easily out of the saddle and down to the ground to stand in front of Shiloh. Using his size to intimidate her, he walked up so he was looking almost directly down on her making her tilt her head back to look up at him.

”Fine. You want to be my aid with your own rules, then we’ll play it your way. I’ll speak to Mrs. Winston about the dog. But in return, you will not let him wonder around the dorm unattended. He must be with you all the time. If he is seen without you, you forfeit your room in the dorms and take up residency with the rest of the animals in the stable.”

Turning, he walked back to Mina then looked over at Shiloh as he readied to mount the dragon.

“You have 5 minutes to secure your things and get back to camp. The darker it gets the more threat the Lizonians make. I don’t want to explain to my commander why my aid was killed just outside the gates of the camp. In the meantime, I will speak to Mrs. Winston and let her know what is to happen. When I get done with her, it’s time for us to start our training. Be ready.”

With that, Erik easily climbed into the saddle again and nodded to Mina. The dragon looked down at Shiloh for a moment then leapt into the air. The sound of her wide, leathery wings filled the air then faded away leaving Shiloh alone with her thoughts.

Back at the camp, Mina landed and Erik slid from her saddle once more marching his way over to the female aid dorms and banging on the door then calling for Mrs. Winston. The woman came to the door yelling at who ever it was to hold their horses. As soon as she opened the door and saw the look on Erik’s face, she furrowed her brow.

”No. I told you, no flea bitten mongrel will be allowed in my house as long as I a….”

Before she could finish, Erik cut her off.

”Sampson is no flea bitten mongrel. He has no fleas as Shiloh adds a special herb to his food to prevent the varmints from attaching themselves to him. He will accompany my aid to her room and stay by her side at all times. If he should ever be seen alone in the dorms, she forfeits her room.”

Mrs. Winston swelled up like a bull frog and her face turned several shades of red.

”Now listen here….”

Erik had enough of this bickering and closed the door using his booming, angry voice causing Mrs. Winston to startle and look up at him wide eyed. Placing her hand on the top of her chest, she closed her mouth before she irked the knight any more.

”Enough woman! I’ve heard enough from both of you on this matter! Shiloh is my aid and you will afford her this.”

Lowering his voice he spoke so only Mrs. Winston could hear him.

”I will take full responsibility for her actions, Mrs. Winston. If she so much as lets her room get one head hair out of place, report it to me and I will deal with her directly. Agreed?”

The woman stood there glaring up at the young man but finally she relented with a curt nod of her head. Erik gave her a charming smile and stepped back already seemingly in a much better mood.

”Very well. I’m glad we could come to this understanding, Mrs. Winston. As always, you are the most precious gem in this camp and I am eternally grateful for your presence.”

As he began to take a few steps backwards, Erik gave the elderly woman a deep bow then winked at her as he stood back up. Already he could see the woman’s cheeks color and she fanned herself as she felt her heart flutter. By the time he turned around to look for Shiloh his look had changed to one of a more serious nature.

Her five minutes were up. So where the hell was she? Furrowing his brow Erik scanned the encampment for her to see if she was there and ready to go. An unpleasent thought was already planting itself in his mind and he didn't like how it was taking root and gorwing. Had the Lizonians pulled a surprise attack on Shiloh? As his worry quickly grew, he walked slowly towards Mina as his eyes continued to scan the area for the young woman.

Shiloh was making sure she had everything when a low growl came from Sampson. He was staring at something in the trees. She looked to RainStorm, her father having taught her how to utilize the animals natural instincts for her own safety. The horse was uneasy, stomping his foreleg into the grassy ground, his hears laid back. He was concentrating on the area that Sampson was growling at.

Pulling her sword from it's sheath, she was seriously beginning to thing that the Gods had chosen wrong when they'd chosen her to be Erik's aid. The man didn't like her, the others already thought she was a joke, and Mrs. Winston hated her. Now, it looked as if she was up against something in the forest and she'd hadn't even made it back to the base. Erik was going to be so pissed at her.

Keeping her sword close, she tossed her lightweight bag over the pommel of the saddle and quietly whistled for Sampson. The dog trotted over to her as she mounted RainStorm and turned him in the direction of the base.

Next thing she knew, she was being hit hard square in the chest, knocked off RainStorm and hitting the ground hard. Sampson was growling and snarling at something, but she couldn't see what just yet. She saw RainStorm's front legs leave the ground as he reared up, whinnying in anger, lashing out at something. Looking up, trying to catch her breath, she looked directly into the face of the ugliest Lizonian she'd ever seen.

His head was squared, not round like most Lizonians, his teeth were completely pointed and his skin had a red hue to it instead of a greenish-blue. His eyes was what scared her the most. They were gold rimmed in a thick red circle, the pupils thin slits.

She fumbled for her dagger as she'd lost her sword when the lizard had knocked her off of her horse. As she pulled it from her boot sheath, he sank his sharp teeth into her left shoulder. She screamed as Sampson leapt at him, knocking him off of her.

Rising, she fought the urge to vomit from the pain, knowing that the saliva of some Lizonians was toxic, causing horrible infections. The severe burning sensation in her shoulder told her that this strange Lizonian was no different.

She watched as Sampson and RainStorm battled the three other Lizonians as she faced the strange one, dagger in her hand. He had to be something one of the sorcerers possibly created.

"You are ssssstrong, girl. But, not ssssstrong enough for me." The Lizonian could speak, fluently which was also amazing. Most Lizonians could speak, but it was speaking to one who was all brawns and little brains. It was why the were so easily controlled by the sorcerers. This one though, had brains and brawn, not a good combination.

The thing leapt for her again and she swiped at him with her right hand, the dagger's sharp blade cutting deep into the side of his face. He yelled in pain, greenish blood seeping from the deep gash. His drew his thin lips back away from his teeth, his hands coming up with one inch long claws, their tips sharp like razors. He lashed out and Shiloh jumped back, but the pain in her shoulder made her falter and his claws raked along her stomach, drawing blood. The furrows weren't deep, but they were painful.

She was weakening, but she wouldn't go down. She glanced at the dog and horse and saw that they had dispatched the others. One was laying on the ground, his throat ripped out while the others had been trampled to death. Both animals turned simutaneously to her and her opponent.

The reddish Lizonian sensed that he was now outnumbered and gave Shiloh a grin that told her it wasn't over. She had the feeling that she'd been singled out for some odd reason.

As he fled into the trees, Shiloh sank to the ground, her shoulder bleeding heavily from the tear in it, infection already setting in. As she succumbed to the blackness, her last thought was ~Great, now I've really done it. I've failed as an aid and haven't even begun training yet.~ Then, she let the blackness take her, feeling Sampson lay down beside her as RainStorm stood guard.

Erik and Mina had taken to the sky as soon as they heard the shriek from the forest in the direction Shiloh had been left. Several guards were already on the wall and preparing to attack but they couldn’t see anything. In the blink of an eye, Mina landed near the make shift camp Shiloh had made and as she spotted the lone Lizonian scampering away, she roared viciously then took a deep breath and heaved a huge path of fire in his direction.

While Mina held the Lizonian at bay, Erik easily slid from her back and ran to Shiloh. He could see the greenish saliva in her shoulder and cursed knowing the bite was tainted with the poison Lizonians naturally have so that meant there was precious little time to get her the antitoxin. As he slid his arms under her to scoop her up he saw the slash marks on her torso then and cursed again.

”Dammit……I KNEW it…”

As he carefully but quickly made his way over to Mina once more, he gently laid her on Mina’s back then climbed into the saddle cradling her unconscious form. Looking over at the horse and dog, he talked to them like he did Mina.

”Get inside the camp. Now. You’ll meet your mistress there.”

Mina leapt into the sky and headed for the camp.

~She’s growing weaker, Erik. I can feel her heart beat growing slower and fainter.~

”Just get me to the infirmary, Mina.”

Within a matter of a minute, Mina landed gently a few feet from the infirmary and lowered her neck so Erik could easily slide form her back with Shiloh in his arms. As soon as his feet hit the ground he headed for the building and practically kicked the door open. The surprised staff looked at him then looked at Shiloh and quickly set to work.

The doctor gestured for him to bring her into a separate room and lie her on a cloth covered table. Erik did as he was ordered and stepped back to watch. The doctor and his aids quickly assessed her condition and knew it was grave. Barking orders left and right, they worked like a well oiled machine to get everything they would need to get the woman back from the brink of death, if they could.

One of the aids came over to Erik and told him he had to leave since they had to strip the woman down and tend to her wounds. Erik didn’t want to leave her alone right now but knew he had no choice. Walking out into the main room, he ran his hands through his hair and paced back and forth.

Mina, who was still outside, leaned her head down to look into the door and saw her rider pacing back and forth.

~Will she be OK, Erik?~

Erik stopped pacing and looked out at the dragon and shrugged.

[color:edbc=white~I don’t know Mina. The doctor says it could go either way.

He stared at the dragon for a moment then walked out to climb onto her saddle. Mina instantly took to the air and headed for the forest once more to search for the Lizonian responsible for this attack. The dragon glided just over the tree tops in search of the beast but he was long gone by now and she knew Erik wasn’t ready to begin his patrol yet.

Heading back to the encampment, she landed once more near the infirmary and Erik slid from her back. He was just about to enter the infirmary when he heard his name barked and he flinched knowing exactly who it was.

”Jordon! My office. Now!”

Erik stood board straight and nodded, cursing under his breath as he waited for the man to pass and fall in step behind him. Commander Kryton was not a man you wanted angry at you. He was a fair man but when he was angry, he wasn’t easily placated. And right now, he was rather pissed.

As Erik entered the Commander’s office the man told him to close the door. As soon as Erik closed it, Kryton lit in to him without hesitation.

”Have you lost your ever loving mind?! That woman was your responsibility. You should have stayed with her until she returned to camp. Now, because you didn’t, she may loose her life. The doctor already says he’s not sure about her arm. Why weren’t you with her?!”

Erik knew this would be the part he wouldn’t like. But, he also knew there was nothing gained by shirking his responsibilities and owning up to his mistake was the only way he could keep his honor.

”Sir, I was upset with her for going out into the forest to begin with. We had an argument over her housing arrangement and I was angry.”

Kryton stood there seething and took several deep breaths before he spoke. When he did finally speak, it was through a clenched jaw and gnashed teeth.

”So because a woman argued with you over trivial matters, you left her alone, at this time of the evening, resulting in her being attacked and damn near KILLED?! Pull your head out of your ass! You have an aid now. A female one. Deal with it. The others have. Why should you be any different? Get your ass out on patrol. And don’t come back before morning!”

Erik snapped to attention then turned on his heel and left Kryton’s office leaving the door open. Heading out to where Mina waited, he looked to the infirmary and was about to head in there when Mina quickly caught him.

~Don’t disobey his orders, Erik. You will regret it.~

Erik stopped and looked from Mina to the infirmary door. Cursing under his breath he walked over to the dragon and climbed into the saddle.

”Fine….let’s go.”

Mina leapt into the air and headed for their normal patrolling area leaving Erik to stew about his mistake and the regret he now felt for leaving Shiloh alone like that. If she died, her death would be his fault and he knew that. Hopefully the Gods would look down kindly upon her and spare her life. If they did, he promised them he would not be so hard on her.

Silently Erik let his gaze sweep the sky as Mina moved over the air currents. Shiloh had frustrated him to no end, but he had to admit, much of it was caused by his own actions and her reaction to them. He would not have reacted any differently if the shoe were on the other foot.

It certainly gave the young knight something to ponder.