Elemmire saw the messenger's displeased look but had no time to address it. She merely made room for the girl in the shelter of her shield and threw a question over her shoulder. "Will your gryphon be back?"

Before the messenger could answer, Elemmmire saw an arrow just in time to roll them both out of its way.

"Archer at my two o'clock," she barked. "Ewan, can you--" she'd forgotten. "I mean, Ralphie, can you take him out?"

"Aye," Ralphie said, drawing his bow. Elemmire didn't notice the lack of formalities. She did, however, notice his unsteady hands as he notched his arrow and took aim. Waiting just long enough for Ralphie to send his shot unsteadily into the trees, she called, "Allons, Kenmore, help him out."

The crash and sickening thud that followed their shots was immensely satisfying. Less satisfying were the seven arrows now searching for targets within their ranks.

"Shields up!" Elemmire called, yanking the messenger further under the cover of her own shield. "If you've got eyes on an archer, take him out."

From there, they slipped seamlessly into code, just as they'd trained to, calling out targets and automatically tightening their circle to fill in the gaps when someone fell. Each archer paired with a shield-bearer, the shield-bearers protecting the archers as they shot and notched new arrows. When this skirmish ended, Elemmire would be proud of them.

*****

Finn stared at the dead man and the bleeding soldier in dismay. He'd known there was a war on, seen the casualty lists, understood the need for checkpoints, but he'd never seen death so close. "I'm sorry," he blurted, making the soldier jerk in surprise.

"For what?"

"You got hurt. And he's--" Finn gestured helplessly.

"It's only a flesh wound," the soldier said. "And we got the guy. He was an enemy spy, and we only got him because you noticed him. Instead of you apologizing to me, I should be thanking you. I would've let him go free, if it weren't for you."

Finn shook his head. "I didn't do anything."

The soldier adjusted his grip on the bandage he was pressing into his shoulder. "Yes, you did, son. And we're lucky it ended with just one injury."

Finn nodded slightly in acknowledgement and left without further response. He'd always expected to do something great in this war-- to conquer the enemy and make him pay. When he'd discovered that he had no aptitude for combat, he'd consoled himself with dreams of the glory he'd have when he brought some cunning spy to justice all on his own.

Now, he had, according to this soldier, and it left him cold. For once in his life, Finn hoped no one would hear of his good deed.

Finn wandered deep into the city, lost in his thoughts.

Watching the skirmish, the blood, the deadly looks of concentration on the faces around her, and seeing arrows fly past her startled eyes had Saber's heart starting to race. She was a messenger. This was out of her skill range. Tightening her fists as she shrank as far behind the shield as she could without bumping into Elemmire.

Saber looked questioning up into the sky. Would Falcon come back? It wasn't her place to be in a battle. She would make an easy target if she came too close. Still, having her friend here would be welcoming. Turning her head, she glance up at Elemmire. What could she say? What could she do? Fear was more paralyzing than she had known. So this was what battle was like.

*****

Falcon looked with distaste at the stranger who stood respectfully before her. "Please, Falcon, don't go back out. There is little you can do. You are not a fighter." In response to those words, Falcon pulled herself up to her full height and looked down at the mere human with indignation. Opening her beak and grinding her talons into the dirt beneath her, she showed her more fearsome side.

He tried one last time, "Humans train and have the armor. You have feathers. It would be too dangerous..." he was cut off by her quick leap into the sky. Using her strength in speed, she sped back out to where she had left her rider. Just what did humans think of gryphons? It was time that someone reminded them what they were capable of. Just as long as arrows and lances didn't hit her, she would would take any human out.

*****

Archer settled at a table, still warm and relaxed from his bath. The barracks food was plain but dust free. There was less variety, but all of it was good and healthy. He didn't mind that it wasn't gourmet. Growing up, he had had less. Just knowing that he had his break made everything all better.

Seconds stretched into minutes, and then time stood still. This was why Elemmire loved to fight-- she loved the adrenalin, the rush, the feeling of being alive. She could see every detail on the arrow floating past her ears, taste every drop of salty sweat sliding over her lips, hear every syllable each of her soldiers said with ultimate clarity.

She gave herself full rein to exult, knowing it could only make her stronger and encourage her people.

"What's the count?"

"Seven enemy down; two ours," Ralphie said. Elemmire was glad to hear his voice so steady.

"I think there are fifteen." This from Kenmore, as he notched an arrow and took aim. "Fourteen."

An eternity later, they heard a strangled shout and knew it meant retreat. "Forward," Elemmire barked, and the archers fell back while the shield-bearers adjusted their grips and charged, swords bared.

Elemmire barely remembered to shove the messenger into Allons's capable hands.

*****

Finn came to himself at the city gate that opened into the army camps. He hadn't been to this side of the city since he'd dropped out of basic nearly six years ago.

Some perverse part of himself was curious. Had it changed much in all that time? He knew the fighting had intensified at the front, but most people still felt safe in Carlin. He wondered how much of that had to do with the way the camp operated.

With a mental shrug, Finn walked to the checkpoint and gave his old serial number. He wasn't sure whether to be pleased or frightened when they let him in.

Falling backwards into another's safekeeping, Saber felt bewildered and overwhelmed. She was completely out of her element. Blood. Lives ending forever. The side of war most didn't have to experience nor desired to. At least she hoped they didn't. For herself, she was starting to feel dizzy and sick. The sounds of shouting and cheering as the skirmish neared it's end filled her ears. Slumping onto her knees and leaning forward on her heads, she worked to keep the bile that was rising from advancing further. Perhaps skipping supper tonight would be a good idea.

*****

Seeing the main road ahead, Falcon sped down towards the earth. Coming in low parallel to the earth, she tucked her wings in to protect them from low-hanging branches and waited until she could see the remaining group of Carlin soldiers. Saber's hunched form and pale face brought out the fear that Saber had been wounded in Falcon's heart and she brought her feet forward.

Landing with a thud that resounded through the trees, she let out a shriek that high-pitched and intense. With another angry shriek, she grabbed Saber by the arm and half dragged her friend towards her back. Using her beak to give the weak human a lift up, she waited only long enough for one strap to tie Saber into the saddle before she was scuttling backwards away from the conflict.

Clearing the trees and sensing that the others straps were tied on, she pivoted and jumped. Letting her wings pull them skyward, Falcon glanced back and saw Saber gasping in the rapidly cooler air with greedy lungs. Face flushed, she seemed to be coming around from the air alone. Realizing that her rider wasn't hurt physically, Saber turned and took a slower glide back towards the Stone Circle.

*****

Glad to have had a decent meal without paying for it, Archer went to spend a few minutes with Silver. He was settled in and resting. Opening a large eyelid to look passively at Archer as he walked near, the large dragon seemed to not mind the company. Knowing he had a bed back in the fortress' barracks, but not wanting to be alone, Archer settled down against the dragon's side and leaded against his shoulder. The silence between them was comfortable as the sun set and the first stars began to pepper dusk's sky.

The gryphon's screech proved to be the very thing Elemmire's soldiers needed to finish the enemy. Already disorganized and in full retreat, they threw down their weapons to cover their ears at the earsplitting noise.

Elemmire and her people were more used to the sounds of gryphons coming and going, and so most of them retained their battle gear without any problems despite the ringing in their ears.

Each enemy soldier had a sword under his chin before any of them could regroup.

As Elemmire assigned people to collect their new prisoners' weapons, check for survivors, bind up the wounded, and build stretchers, she wished she'd gotten the messenger's name. For all her fear in battle, she and her gryphon had proven to be a huge asset.

*****

Finn wandered just as aimlessly through the military compound as he had through the city. He had the vague sense that he was looking for something-- or should be looking for something-- but couldn't even begin to figure out what it was.

He had just enough presence of mind to look like he was on a mission whenever he noticed someone looking at him, and he found himself near a large are of dusty but packed earth, as if dragons or perhaps gryphons landed there on a daily basis.

He shrugged a little, resisting the urge to cast a spell with his nervous energy. They probably did; they had to land somewhere, after all. He looked around, hoping for a target for his curiosity.

Saber was calmed back down, though still pale-faced, as she neared the encampment. Flying over it, and over Carlin, she headed for the fortress. The Stone Circle was a beauty to behold. No one would bother her there. She had done her job and had every intention of relaxing. Assistants were already coming to meet them as she flew over the walls of the gryphon tower and glided down into the landing courtyard. Yes, a good rest would do a world of good and those attendants would ease her mind about Falcon's welfare.

As they landed, she undid the straps and slid down. Walking around to scratch above Falcon's large beak, she whispered her thanks and accepted the concerned nudge of her friend. However Falcon was not done. Every time Saber turned to leave, Falcon snapped her beak forward to block her escape. Realizing that hot bath would have to wait until morning, Saber sighed and walked with Falcon to where Falcon's house was.

A beautiful niche in the side of the fortress wall, Falcon had her possessions and bed here. Carefully organized and clean, it wasn't long before gryphon and had settled in and fallen asleep, with one gryphon wing protectively covering her human rider. The last of the day was sliding away. The Stone Circle seemed still and silent, though this in itself was a deception as officers and officers planned and waited for news of the latest enemy skirmish behind lines.

By the time Elemmire and her company got back to the compound, the stars were high in the sky, and everyone was visibly exhausted. They'd had to drag four wounded and two bodies back with them, and their three prisoners had tried to escape at every opportunity.

As soon as they handed their prisoners off to security and got the wounded to the healers, Elemmire dismissed them. She trudged off to the coroner's alone to report the deaths of Ewan and Ralphie and request a detail to take care of their bodies. In the morning, she'd write letters to their families.

She was hungry and dirty and dead-tired, but her responsibilities dictated that she check on Gwen and report to headquarters before she took her rest. As she left the healers, who told her that Gwen was alive but critical and assured her her other soldiers would survive, she noticed a young man wandering about in the field nearby. Something was odd about his behavior, so she squared her shoulders and walked over to investigate.

*****

Finn wasn't sure what to make of the lady soldier approaching him. She looked fierce but exhausted, as though she'd just been through hell and back. He decided to go with common courtesy. "Good evening, ma'am."

She responded by collapsing. He tried to catch her as she fell, but her height and armor were too much for him, and she ended up sprawled on top of him. Finn managed to roll her to the side and knelt next to her, looking for signs of injury. He found a broken arrow shaft sticking out of a chink in one side of her armor. It didn't look too bad, but Finn was no medic, and he had read that arrows could cause serious problems if they punctured deep. He stood up and ran to the healers.

Archer felt Silver's stomach beginning to grumble for breakfast long before the big dragon started to restless move his wings a bit. Opening his reddish-brown eyes, Archer squinted up at his white scaly friend and murmurred, "Morning big guy." Silver's head slowly swing around to sleepily look at him, the space rather cramped since it was meant as a room for gryphons and not dragons. Archer slowly pulled himself onto his knees and used Silver's side to stiffly stand up. The dragon waited only until he was on his feet before also crouching into a somewhat standing position and working his way out into the living quarters' courtyard.

Falcon, upon hearing the shifting of another started to blink her eyes open in her relaxed way. Feeling Saber beside her, she was in no hurry to get up. However the shuffling and footsteps sounded like those of a pregnant gryphon and none of those resided here. Turning and looking outside her home entrance, Falcon's eyes rounded in shock at the sight of a dragon in her midst. Letting out a challenging shriek, she stood up quickly and stalked towards the door.

Saber fell over in a tumble among the feather bed Falcon had built up. Looking up in shock, she watched her friend charge outside and raise hell that echoed off the stone walls. Scrambling to her feet, she barely paused to brush feathers off her clothes as she ran after Falcon.

Archer jumped back at the same moment Silver's head shot up in surprise. The gryphon challenging them was obviously angry. Before Archer could react further, Silver returned the challenge with his might roar. It was thunderous to hear and he had to cover his ears to protect what hearing he had left.

Saber rushed out beside Falcon. Archer hurried to stand by Silver. The two humans, dwarfed by their companions, stared at each other in bewilderment. This was not the morning wake up call that they had imagined and neither of them had their wits about them.

Falcon stood legs braced apart, staring angrily at the dragon. More then two sizes higher than a human, there was little Saber could think to do to calm her down. Archer was in the same boat. As large as Falcon was, Silver more than doubled her size and strength. It was uncertain that anything but a fight could evolve out of this.

Thankfully, the ruckus woke up the Gryphon Ambassador. He calmly walked out, the air of peace and boredom. His stance calmed Falcon which allowed Silver to cease his answering grief. Silence settled over the place. An assistant to the area calmly slipped in with the group and a telephone version of translating ensured. Assistant asked the ambassador to ask Falcon what was wrong and to eventually let the young gryphon understand that sometimes dragons did indeed borrow an empty room in the gryphon wing.

Finn sat in a spare chair by the soldier lady's bedside. The healers had come and examined the wound, determining that it was neither fatal nor serious. They'd thanked Finn for his help but assured him he could go back to his unit. She'd be fine, and if he wanted, he could come by at lunchtime to see for himself.

But Finn just couldn't leave. He knew he had done very little in this situation, but he felt responsible. Would she have gotten help on her own if he hadn't been there? He doubted she'd want a stranger there when she awoke, but he knew he'd never be able to concentrate on anything else until he could see for himself that she was okay.

What had the doctors said her name was? Elemmire? It was a pretty name, a soft name. The kind people in Carlin only gave to upper-class citizens. It certainly didn't seem to fit a soldier, even an officer. He wondered how she'd gotten into soldiering, how life could be so strange-- that this woman with the soft hair and the pretty name could be better at war than he was.

Just after dawn touched the horizon, Finn's thoughts were interrupted by a nice-looking young man in an archer's uniform. It was hanging off him awkwardly as though the man had just thrown it on and run his fingers through his hair. He was a little out of breath, and his eyes looked worried, but he smiled at the woman on the bed.

"Elemmire," he breathed.

Finn figured he must be her husband or boyfriend. "Uh, hi," he said. "I'm Finn."

The man started a little but shook the hand Finn offered. "Anras. I take it you're the boy they were talking about-- the one who found her?"

Finn nodded, refusing to change expression at the use of the word "boy."

"You have my thanks," Anras said, squeezing his had once before releasing it. "She is my best friend in all the world, and..."

"I understand," Finn said when Anras seemed unlikely to continue. "I'm just glad she got help. Now, I should probably--"

"Oh, of course. I'll stay with her. And--" Anras looked a little uncomfortable. "I'd like to-- well, could I pay you back somehow?"

"No!" Finn replied. "I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I had nowhere else to be. Anyone would've done the same."

"Well, can I at least take you out for dinner?"

Finn considered. He hadn't shared a meal with anyone but monks in years. Still, Anras seemed friendly enough. "Sure. I would like to hear how she fares. Serozi's?"

Anras grinned. "You know Serozi's?"

Finn smiled back, a little warily. "Who doesn't?"

Anras laughed. "Good point. Shall I meet you there at... say, four o'clock? If she's better by then, I'll bring Elemmire."

Finn nodded. "Yes, of course. I will see you then."

Without further ado, he vacated his chair and walked out, turning to give a half-wave over his shoulder. When he reached the entrance of the tent, he stopped and turned back. Anras had taken Elemmire's hand and promptly fallen asleep.

The sight made him smile.

Saber headed down towards the library. She had brought along a bag of her own books. If they didn't have what she needed here, then she was going to have to just start cross-referencing and pooling her own resources. It was more painstaking and definitely required knowledge of codes in order to fill the gaps. However, push had come to shove. And she wanted that message decoded.

Walking into the library and stopping by the head librarian's office, she was disappointed that neither the book nor her notes from the sealed books was ready. She felt guilty about it afterwards, but Saber had narrowed her eyes and hinted in a low voice that this was not a personal request but of important with the war effort. That should get the head librarian pushing buttons faster. Saber really hoped her white lie would yield results.

When she learned her research notes and references from the day before weren't at the desk or in lost and found, Saber began to feel nervous. Too many things were going wrong. A worker or patron of the library would have picked up her things for them to disappear. Was a bad person on to her? Shrugging it off. She found a corner table and settled down with her notebook and books. Careful to pick up only one book at a time from the shelf as well as to keep the books she wasn't using at the moment from home safely in her bag, she started fresh on a new piece of paper.

First, she rewrote the coded message. Second, she wrote the uncoded answers of the coded message. Which was the books and their pages numbers. How the message ended up with that info was her key. She would worry about the information on magic and dragons later. Right now she had to break the code.

*****

Archer and Silver flew high up in the sky. A test flight was the official term, but he knew what they were doing was essentially a joy ride. Also, they were keeping Falcon company while she hunted. She was below them somewhere about to leave the hills for the large forests. Unlike them, she could glide under and walk though the trees without leaving a trail. Archer looked wryly down at his white companion. Silver was likely to accidentally knock a tree over.

Still, his thoughts traveled back towards the morning wake up call. Not the most pleasant experience, but at least he was going to not end up eating supper alone. Saber had agreed to meet him at Serozi's. She said something about getting there early to look over something. Saber had a funny happy of randomly playing with stuff, like the small dragon scales that were laying in a pile. It was still a pile when she was done, but somehow it had looked slightly more organized. He had no doubt she wanted to continue her game. He wasn't planning to show up earlier than 4 though. Maybe 4:30. Silver and him were enjoying their flight too much.

Finn arrived at the library late, of course. By then, he was starting to feel the effects of staying up all night, and it didn't suit him one bit. He hoped he'd left his spell book in his office.

He didn't quite make it to his office, though. Mrs. Nenharma caught him in the hallway and dragged him by his sleeve into her office.

"Where have you been?" she hissed in the whisper she used when she was angry and didn't want to disturb the patrons. The soundproofing here was terrible. "And where is that book I told you to get? And aren't you in charge of Lost and Found? Why are patrons' things going missing?"

Finn bristled. "Maybe if you did your jo--" he clapped a hand over his mouth. It was completely the wrong thing to say. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Nenharma; I had something of a crisis situation last night, and I'm not thinking very clearly."

"That's right, you're not. Now go out there and tell that lovely young lady over there why you haven't found her book yet." She pointed, and Finn glanced over, looked back at Mrs. Nenharma, and flicked back to the girl, unable to look away. She was really quite beautiful, in a quiet way.

"Oh-- and she lost some papers last time she was here, but they weren't in the Lost and Found. Can you tell her what happened to them?"

"How am I supposed to know--" Finn was having trouble speaking. He was too tired to focus on more than one thing at once, and right now he wanted to focus on the girl. He shook his head slightly. "I'm sure I'll figure it out. Thank you, Mrs. Nenharma."

With that, Finn wandered out of her office, closing the door against her protests, and approached the girl. She seemed utterly focused on her book, and Finn wondered what it was.

*****

"Hey, good morning, El," Anras's voice floated over Elemmire's head as she stirred. "You're at the healers'."

"What?" Elemmire snapped awake at the word "healers." She shouldn't be here. She had reports to give and training drills to run. They'd been a little slow yesterday-- it HAD been yesterday, right?-- and she wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. There was no need for so many injuries when there were so few enemy combatants to subdue.

"Listen, El, you got injured, and you collapsed, and a very nice, good-looking young man got you over here." Anras grinned at Elemmire's frown.

"Not the dragon rider again?" Elemmire asked, not sure whether she hoped it was or wasn't.

"Who?"

Elemmire covered her blush under the pretext of wiping the sleep from her eyes. "Nothing. I don't remember anyone." She pinched the bridge of her nose and thought. "No, wait-- I do. There was a boy--"

"A handsome boy?" Anras prompted.

"No-- just a boy," Elemmire said. "He was ... odd ... He didn't belong here."

Anras frowned. "Nobody said anything about a strange boy."

Elemmire shook her head. "He's probably long gone now. Did headquarters get a report from my unit?"

Anras didn't know. "I was asleep by the time you got back; someone came and got me when I woke up and brought me here. I haven't heard anything."

Elemmire straightened her shoulders and started to sit up, but Anras grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back down.

"Look, El, you were shot, and you idiotically didn't tell anyone, and now you're going to lie here and rest up so you don't faint again."

"I did not faint!"

"Yes, you did. You fainted into the arms of a handsome young man, and now we're taking him to dinner. Serozi's at four o'clock. The healers said you'd be released by then."

"But--"

"I know, I know. You need to report to headquarters. I can take care of that. I'll send Major Harclass over on his lunch break. Now, I got permission to stay here a few hours, but I need to get back. Can I bring you anything before I take off?"

Elemmire sighed. She really was quite tired, and she wasn't looking forward to giving that report. She supposed it could wait a few hours. "All right. I'd like some paper and a pen; I need to write my boys' mothers. Are any of my people in here?"

Anras looked around. "Don't think so. Most of them got treated before they lost too much blood, and they were released this morning. Gwen's in with the intensive care patients, though."

Elemmire rolled her eyes at Anras's scolding. "How is she?"

"I'll check."

Fifteen minutes later, Anras was back with writing utensils galore and the knowledge that Gwen was doing better. "Remember, El, you're coming to dinner. Maybe practice your charmspeak a little for Finn."

"Who's Finn?"

Anras just laughed and walked away, ignoring Elemmire's death glare.



{was I having fun? noooo, of course not...}

(( Not at all *giggle*))

Saber was getting the code partially unsolved. She had managed to unravel the number sequence but not the second half pinpointing the words or letters. It was getting tiring. She really needed that book. Saber wondered momentarily if there was anyway to get into the library up at the Stone Circle. They would have the resources she needed but only those with higher clearance than her had access.

Sighing, she reached down to pull out another book when she saw a shadow off to the side. Instinctively, she pushed the book back into the bag and rested her other arms over her notes. Looking over, she saw a young man who looked like he worked here. Frowning, she decided not to trust him. No guy with those blue eyes would be working in a library, so he must be here as a patron. Patrons didn't need to know her business.

Coolly she asked, "What can I help you with?" Realizing she had narrowed her eyes at him, she wondered if she should try to look more friendly. Afterall, playing bad guy or spoiled brat wasn't her way. Then she thought better of it. Saber wasn't in a good mood. The staff hadn't come through for her here and that kinda ruined her hurried plans to save the dragons from... whatever danger they were in with this war and all.

*****

Archer felt a bit of annoyance as he saw Falcon heading back to the stone fortress already. He felt no inclination to return and the narrowed eyes of Silver only seemed to confirm that the feeling was mutual. They turned and flew above her for a moment so she could see that they knew she was heading back, then they turned and headed out over the hills. Clear space below and above. Making their way up into the clouds, they began to train. It was more like play, but every bit helped increase their skills.

Being a dragonrider was a difficult business. Thought the dragon was a large creature, to get the most out of speed and agility, the rider had to work as a team mate with the dragon. If the scouting was to go smoothly, the dragon had to be aware of his rider's limitations (such as eye sight) and compensate for that without hurting his rider. Sharing eye sight was a mysterious ability between dragon and rider, but not without it's dangers. Riders had been known to go blind in the past, so it was discouraged.

Now they worked on their targeted plummets and evasive maneuvers that were close to ground. Working to get air borne fast afterwards was also essential. Both dragon and rider got a workout from it and as they continued, Archer felt his muscles first strain, then burn, and finally become simply oblivious to the exercise.

Finn leaned over the girl, trying to get a look at the book she was reading, but she was covering it with her arms. From where he stood, her pose looked uncomfortable. She was hiding something, then.

"Hello, miss," he said, injecting his voice with the polite inquiry he always used with patrons. "Mrs. Nenharma tells me you've been looking for a book."

He smiled in what he hoped was a charming way. "I'm so sorry to have to tell you this, but that book has gone missing from our archives downstairs; I was away for a week, and someone took it out without my knowledge. Unfortunately, they forgot to check it out properly, so locating it may very well be impossible."

Something nudged the back of his mind. He was forgetting something.

"Oh, and I'm so sorry about your notes. I heard there was some sort of accident with them, and I offer my deepest apologies. I hope it was nothing vital. I would, of course, be glad to replace your paper for you, though I cannot help you with recreating whatever was on them."

*****

Elemmire hated convalescing. She had trained for years to always be active, to work her muscles until they moved like gears, steady and precise. With every minute that she spent lying in bed, she felt another few cells of her muscle die, another few neurons of muscle memory slip through her fingers.

She didn't even have anything to think about-- anything she wanted to think about, anyway. The letters to the mothers of her dead soldiers lay addressed and blank on the chair beside her bed. She had no idea what she could possibly say to those women. Nothing could atone for such a loss.

What was worse, Elemmire couldn't help thinking that she could have changed things-- she'd split her people up, and they'd gotten ambushed. She'd delayed too long with the orders to group up again. She'd gotten swept up in the heat of battle and forgotten to take care of her people.

Major Harclass had seemed impressed with Elemmire's actions when he took her report earlier that morning (evidently, majors didn't need silly things like "lunch breaks"), had even hinted at a commendation for catching something that Headquarters had missed, for subduing so many with so little loss of life. But how much of that had been true approval, and how much had been an attempt to make her feel better-- or worse, a nod to her feminine sensibilities?

There was nothing to be done about it now; she'd simply have to train harder. Perhaps she should stop by the library and read up on military strategy. Next time, she'd be better prepared.

With a sigh, Elemmire picked up the writing tablet, letters, and pen and ink. Those letters wouldn't write themselves. With every scratch of the pen against paper, Elemmire vowed she'd never have to do this again.

So he did work here. Saber was glad that she hadn't tried to be more friendly. The missing book wasn't his fault perhaps, but she needed those notes on how magic was formed into something usable by the common people. Feeling more and more irritated, she suppressed her temper and suggested, " Since you lost my notes, can't get the notes I asked for, or find a simple book, you can make up for it by getting me access up at the Stone Circle's library. The fortress most likely will have what I need. She turned and looked up him calculatingly to see how he reacted. Maybe she could use this simpleton.

Finn narrowed his eyes by the slightest of margins. First, she wanted a restricted book on dragons, and now she wanted a free pass to the Stone Circle? "Why do you need access to that library? That information is almost entirely classified. Even I've only been granted access there twice, and I've worked here for several years."

This girl clearly didn't think much of him, and to be honest, he was beginning to return the favor. If Mrs. Nenharma hadn't endorsed her so strongly (although magic knew Mrs. Nenharma wasn't exactly the most discerning of people), Finn would have turned her into the Council for investigation by now.

Frowning up at him, she pointed out, "It isn't your business why. You know what I need. I was told it wouldn't be a problem to get what I requested. And so far no one has come through on their word." She was really getting impatient. The life of one or more of the dragons could be at risk, not to mention the war effort, and here this mere librarian was nitpicking with her over why. She wasn't about to admit to anyone that she had been witnessed to a spy, or traitor, and thus put her own life at risk. "Just, go get me more paper." She looked away angrily. He was no help. This place was no help. No one was of any help and she needed it desperately.

"Look, miss, I'm sorry you haven't gotten what you needed, but I need to know what your intentions are. This information can be incredibly dangerous; I should know-- I read that book you requested less than a month ago." Finn didn't know why he'd said that.

Then again-- "If you'll just tell me what you need and why you need it, I can probably help you. I--" Finn stopped himself before he said too much. He didn't trust anyone with his secrets, much less this girl. He clenched his hand into a fist before he made fire with it.

"I'll go get you your paper."

She looked at him coolly, "You do that." Watching him leave to get the paper, she waited a moment and then peeked out of the side of her eyes for movement. Turning, she looked around for anyone else close by. For shadows on the other side of the bookcases. Sabir really didn't want to attract the attention of the wrong people. Worse, she didn't want to put someone else at risk. This was probably dangerous. And in the end, no matter how noisy or intrusive that librarian was, she didn't want him hurt either. She didn't want to get hurt herself. Seeing a shadow near the end of the aisle move away from the books, she felt a sense of panic. Standing quickly and stepping around the aisle end on her side, she looked down the other side and saw no one. Was she imagining things? Clenching her hands, she turned and began packing her things. It would cost a small fee, but it appeared she would need a study room with some extra privacy.

{noisy?}

When Finn returned with the paper, the girl was gone. "Well, that was rude," Finn said aloud.

Why had she sent him to fetch paper she clearly didn't want when she could have just thanked him and left? Clearly, she was hiding something.

Instead of going straight back to his office, Finn decided to make a circuit around the library. He hadn't done that in a while, and maybe he could find the mystery girl and see what she was up to.

Walking into Mrs. Nenharma's office with a light knock, Saber looked coolly at the lady. She would have to do this right in order to get what she wanted without making the older lady an accessory to any danger that this whole affair might have. "I'm sorry to bother you ma'am. I need a study room to work in. My work is... delicate... and I would appreciate a little privacy. Do you have one near the front of the library where there is a lot of traffic but with a door so that I have the quiet I need?" That should do the trick. As extra incentive though, she held up her purse, "I have double the fee, of course, to ensure smooth over an inconvenience this might be causing you and your staff." Inside she was grinning while she maintained a very serious face.

The study rooms in the library were rarely used at this time of year. Students at the university in Carlin had their own library, and while they sometimes came to study, their term had ended. Every so often, businessmen used the library study rooms for meetings, or just for a quiet place to think, but the new embargoes had kept most people closer to home, less in need of meeting space, less able to pay even a small fee for some peace and quiet.

But of course the girl with the unhealthy obsession with dragons and rudeness would pay to have a study room just so she wouldn't have to talk to Finn.

He knocked on the door, anyway, and used his key to open it before she could respond.

"Here's your paper," he said, shoving it through the crack in the door. "I won't bother you anymore."

Turning from surprise as well as a bit of alarm, it took a moment for Saber to collect her wits. Stammering a little she said, "Oh... yeah. Thank you. I'd forgotten..." Standing up while trying to cover her reaction, she accidentally knocked her chair over. It landed with a thud on the floor. Flustered and wishing to stop time long enough to collect herself, she quickly reached down and pulled the chair back into a standing position. Turning quickly, she rushed to reach for the papers and ended up giving herself a papercut in the process. Sucking in air between her teeth, she switched the blank paper to the other hand and sucked on the papercut with narrowed eyes. She was much to nervous. Mistakes like this could get her killed if she wasn't in the library. "Thank you for the paper, er..." she paused as she realized she didn't know his name.

Finn raised his eyebrows at the girl's obvious nervous behavior. What was she hiding, and why was she so very bad at not being suspicious? He noted the titles of the books she was reading but couldn't risk repeating them aloud or mumbling a remembrance spell.

He needed more time; closing his eyes, he steeled himself, using the same technique he used to be nice to the handsy older ladies and the haughty, illiterate nobles.

"Call me Carl," Finn smiled. "At your service."

Pausing at hearing his name, she gave a small smile. Send the guy off with a better impression of her. Things were going to have to turn around. "Thank you Carl for your assistance. If you find the book I requested or have time to make notes on the books down in the vault, please bring the information as quickly as you can." Closing the door on him before he could utter another word and prolong her misery, she locked it and turned to lean against the door. Closing her eyes and letting out a sigh, Saber wondered briefly how she was supposed to get any closer to breaking this code. With all her interruptions and mysteriously lost notes, this was taking far longer as well as harder than she had anticipated.

Straightening up and looking at her table. Saber's gray eyes looked wearily over her work. It was going to be a long afternoon. She couldn't wait to get out of here. Maybe she would put in another hour and then head over for supper early. Give herself time to play around with some of the appetizers that were kept on display. Leaving codes there was always so much fun. Shaking her head from that distraction, she took a seat and began her work once again.

Finn frowned. That hadn't gone well at all. And what books did she want notes on? What sort of notes did she even want? What had happened to that dragon book, anyway? He had hoped to gain answers to at least one of the concerns the girl and her research presented, but instead, he just had more conundrums.

With a sigh, he walked back up to his office to shoot fireballs into the hearth.