ITitle Quarrell
Author Stana, Kit
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 01:11:03 -0500

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    Audion's heels nudged the flanks of his horse slightly, compelling the
animal to catch up to the Unicorn and the Earth chosen.  His expression
lightened slightly as he arrived next to Stana, while a vague darkness
played in his eyes.  "Id rather be at the sea myself right now. Have you
ever been to the coast?"
    Stana's eyes moved but her head didn't.  She regarded the stranger
coldly, and if there was anything gentler under there it was not visible
   ::dont trust this one:: Lyr had warned. And she with anger had thrown
that warning back in his face.
   Now looking at him, she wondered if the General's warning had been
legitimate after all..."When I was home, I went to the ocean." she allowed,
but abruptly her voice hardened "Id rather not talk about this."
    The elementalist didn't betray any indication that her remark had any
effect.  "I used to live on the coast.  The waters are dark where I come
from.  An eternity of oscillating midnight and star-lit space.  In spite of
all the brooding aspects, the waters always fluctuated into perplexing
slate, cobalt, indigo and cerulean hues when the sun would shine.  That was
always a welcomed present...a shift from the routine fog and overcast
skies.  The light would add to the prancing swells.  I always enjoyed
watching the teeming waves, headstrong and maniacal in their rush to reach
the sands.  I used to sit for days and gaze at the flippant ocean.  Despite
their rigidity, the lather-topped beakers digressed into nothing more then
pulsating sighs.  Perhaps those waters would comfort you...the sea always
holds secrets, you need only to listen to its singing and it will drink up
your sorrows.  Sorrows become sighs, and the waves will always lament for
those whom know how to talk to it."
     Despite her resolve not to yield to anything he would say, Stana felt
the worlds wrapping around the longing inside for home. She felt very much
the same things when she sat on the beach, listening to the deafening
crashes that would blot out anything, diminish even the largest problems in
her life. The magnitude of the waves put everything in perspective, made it
all manageable.
     It had been a long time since she had last seen an ocean, and the lack
was very much evident in her heart.
     ::Too close!:: a warning rang in her ears and she pulled her thoughts
back from the near daydream they had been in. Clip whickered as her hands
clenched in his mane for a moment.  When she looked again her face had
resumed its granite control.
      "They'd have plenty of reason to lament lately." she said tightly,
pushing a wedge between herself and his attempt at rapport. "we "Chosen"
seem to leave a berth of dead bodies behind us when we leave."
      "Stana!" Teri said sharply, reigning in Agni.
      "Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing,
Earth Chosen.  Death follows none, but does its own bidding when it wills.
"
      The poetry didnt reach her this time. With a twisted smile, she
listened, eyes hooded and distrustful. "There is a thing." she began
conversationally. "Prior to our leaving, Lyr pulled me aside to talk. Among
other things he informed me that while you were useful, you were also
dangerous. I find it odd that General R'Kelnin would place you with us, but
tell me that you were not to be trusted. Why would that be Audion?" she
asked, manner suddenly viscious as all pretense dropped. Her eyes when they
locked to his were flashing jade in the sun. "Why would he warn me about you
only? What are you that claims companionship and hides behind his secrets?
The waves are not the only thing that holds such confidences closely now is
it?  What game are *you* playing?"
        "All are dangerous in their own way," he said calmly, his eyes
gleaming from within a stoic mask,  "and all have secrets.  None of us are
completely trustworthy. Certainly there is no bond of trust between you and
the Fire Chosen." Audion  nodded in Teri's direction, seeing the confusion
in the Empath's gaze as she looked between the two.
         Stana would not be drawn from her attack "Lyr didnt warn me about
Teri. He warned me about you."
         "Perhaps a warning, perhaps mere conversation to distract your mind
from-"
         "I know what I heard." she cut him off rudely "and you are avoiding
the point."
         "This may not be the time." Elainas cut in "to fall into quarrel.
If there is a need for discussion, I would think that we would wait until we
reach our destination. There are too may ears in the open."
          ::And there arent any in an Inn?:: she thought sarcastically, but
didnt say anything, her mind being drawn by the pain settling in her
stomache, the voiding nausea that made her want to bend over and vomit.  All
of a sudden she didnt feel too well, and the sudden silence was in her ears,
a deafening roar.