There was a mighty roar trumpeted as a shadow passed over the parade ground of the compound. Temeraire circled the compound twice loosing altitude with each pass until she spread her mighty wings and flaired she hovered for a moment and uncerimoniously dropped three severed heads of Red Lizonians to the ground she then flapped her wigns, circled flaired again and stepped softly down on the ground. As she lowered herself to lie upon the ground, Braum slid out of the saddle and began untieing three shrouded bodies from behind his saddle. Slowly and reverently he lowered them to the gound, laying them side by side. Kneeling next to the bodies he sadi a silent prayer, then stood and turned, his face dirty and grim. Anger flashed in his eyes as he glared across the compound. He turned and untide a leather backpack for his saddle and laid it on the ground next to the bodies. Opening the backpack Braum removed three dragon claws, laying each beside each of the three bodies.

Braum stood glaring across the parade ground towards Kryton's office. "General Kryton!" Braum yelled. "Where is that fool with rocks in her head instead of brains, Shilo? And her rider Erik?"

Shiloh heard Braum's bellows and strangely enough, she felt calm. She knew the second Erik had left and again, she was mildly surprised that she was able to bury what she felt. Her mother had told her that the rider she rode with could bury his feelings so deep that one didn't have a clue to what he was feeling.

"One day, Shiloh, I will be able to what he does, but never with you, my sweet girl. But, I will be able to bury what I feel and do my job perfectly."

This had come after her mother had watched her fellow aides die and her mother, after weeks of not talking, had come home after a hard patrol with Kryton. He had caught Eleanor crying over the aides' death when they had camped and had chastised her for it for it made them vunerable to attack, her grief making her less observant to her surroundings.

On the day Eleanor had died in Shiloh's arms, she passed on the secret that had taken her so long to learn. How to become numb....how to bury your emotions so that you did not endanger yourself nor anyone else. They were the last words Shiloh heard from her mother. Little did Shiloh know, but Eleanor and Kryton had argued horribly that day...Kryton trying to break through the barrier Eleanor had put up around herself.

Shiloh....listen to me. Find a place......deep inside.....a dark place and lock away your emotions....inside that dark room. Don't let anyone in......and don't let the emotions out.......gasp........but be careful to let them out every now and then when you are alone.........so that you don't.......so that they don't fester inside of you. And, never....never fall in love with your rider....I love you, Shi."

Shiloh was doing exactly that just now. She'd found that dark room deep within herself and was burying her love for Erik and every other emotion she had as deep within that room as she could. She knew that she was to blame for the guards' deaths because of her fear for Erik and she wasn't going to allow it to happen again......ever. Especially to Erik.

Miranda groaned upon hearing Braum bellowing for Kryton and then Shiloh. When she heard his boots stomping into the healer's building, she gingerly raised herself up, peering through the slit in the dividing curtain.

"Braum......BRAUM!!!! Come here."

She waited until he entered her little space behind the curtain and she smiled slightly when she saw him give her a quick once over, making sure she would live. It was rather comforting, knowing that in his own gruff way, he just might care a little.

"Would you mind toning it down a bit? Some of us in here are trying to heal so that we can go chasing after wayward little girls again."

She laid back down, and as she did so, he would see the bandages criss-crossing her body as she had no armor to wear and was sliced up good.

"And, would you mind sending Kryton in here. I need his answer and I need it.....no, I demand it now."

Miranda could almost feel Braum's glare burning her skin and she hid her smile, knowing that she was aggravating him to no end, but oh, he made it so much fun. Besides, she was still angry with him and figured that right now anyway, it was tit for tat.

Serena was furious!! She watched as Erik had flown in on his dragon with his aide and Miranda. Her Red Lizonians had failed! How?! Gnash was smart enough to give his mistress some room as he didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of her spells.

"Come, Gnash! We need to go back to the caves and figure out what we are going to do next."

A vicious sound came from Serena's throat as she watched Braum come flying in only to drop Red Lizonian heads, two of which were hers.

"We also need to figure out how to get rid of that imbecile!!"

Turning in a flurry, she grabbed Gnash's hand, mumbled a few words and they both disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of red smoke.