Date: Sunday, 8 Aug 1993 18:29:29 EDT
From: Michael Sander <344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Message-ID: <93220.182929344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [MG] Of Debts and Interests

[ADMIN: Timeline-wise, this directly follows "[BBD] An Overdue Visit"
(which of course follows the "end" of the BBD thread, coming soon),
Kadrys' dealings w/ Jamison W. Walker, and occurs while 'Raf & Co go
take care of Andrea's condition (lucky girl; getting to control her
changing :-)!). Thanks to (alphabetically) The Dreamer, Andrea Evans,
and Stephen Hutchison for their splices into this...]

>They hugged for a minute, like they had when Lancos entered, before the
>warrior stood up to leave.

"Mr. Lancos?" Little Rat spoke up.  She caught the ranger just before he
crossed the doorway, and as he turned around to her, she choked up a bit.
"Uh, I been thinkin, an... uh, if it's no problem, I could go Outside today."

Lancos gave a small bow.  "It would be my pleasure, m'lady.  I'll go clear
it with 'Raelf." he said, starting out again.

"An I'll go make some sammiches to take along for lunch." Little Rat added
helpfully, and scampered off ahead in the hall, towards the kitchen.

Lancos left Lancos' room with a smile on his face, and headed back to
his room.  Once there, he gave a final check to make sure he left nothing
he might need.  There was little doubt in his mind that he would not sleep
here tonight, and he didn't know when he would be back.  When nothing more
of his was spotted, he left the room, closing the door behind him.  He was
tempted to remove the nameplate from the door, but decided 'Raelf -- or
'Raf, or whomever -- should do it, lest he accidently affect the magics
linked with it in some way.  Besides, as far as _he_ knew, the 'kani might
use this room for some other purpose.

Regardless, he made his way to the living room.  And for a change, he found
it empty.  Recalling Little Rat's mention of the garden, he started heading
that direction, to see if he could find them there.  However, he did not
even reach the doorway before a voice called his name.

"Hey, Lancos."

The warrior turned around, smiling when he recognized the voice. "Hi there.
Good timing,... 'Raelf."  The last word came out as almost a question.
This was partially because the 'kan seemed physically different -- taller,
and with a larger build --, and partially because the warrior remembered
that the mage had many forms right now.

"For now, it's Lex.  Yeah, I know it's confusing, but it wasn't exactly
our idea.  'sides, I've always had good timing, remember?"

"Whatever you say -- I never have truly understood you, and it's probably
better that way." Lancos added a smile to the end of the statement, to
show his whimsy.  "Anyway, I'm glad I found you, since I plan on..."

"I know about your plan, dude.  I wish you luck.  Be careful."

"You know?"  Lancos asked, startled, and almost suspicious.  "What did you
do, spy on us?"

Lex grinned.  "If only it were that simple.  Just some leftover curse, 'Raf
told you about it last night, remember?  Anyway, that's not important.
Word is that you were questing again -- how about telling what happened?"

"Probably not much to tell; after all, we were a rather... quiet -- that
might be the best word -- group."  Then the warrior supplied his own grin,
a rather wry one.  "I'm surprised you don't know all about it, though, like
you seem to about everything else."

The 'kan's smile widened.  "Ahhg!  Got me!  Yeah, I was trying to stall you
until Kadrys finally came in."

"Kadrys is here?"

"Yes, he was caught up in the falderal 'Raelf and ar'Elya were doing, last I
saw.  He should reach the living room within the minute."

"That's cool.  He and I haven't talked in too long a while."

Lex smiled again at the surfer-esque word.  "Well, I know you two need
some time alone, so I'll leave.  I guess I'll see you sometime after you
return with Little Rat."

"One can hope."

The mage laughed a bit at that.  "Yes, I guess that sums up recent events
fairly well.  One can always hope."  And with that, Lex left the room.

Lancos gave the 'kan a small wave goodbye, and then concentrated on what he
should have to say to Kadrys.  He unintentionally paced as he thought, and
as the vampire entered the room, the two nearly collided, only Kadrys' speed
preventing it.  The two looked at each other for a second, and then the
warrior let out a burst of laughter, part out of embarrassment, and part out
of happiness.

"Kadrys!  It's good to see you again!  Last time we met, I was with a
vampire studier, and you were with an unicorn.  And no one even asked us
to switch partners."

Kadrys allowed a hint of a grin to highlight his face.  It was good to see
Lancos in high spirits, particularly while Kadrys was in a good mood himself.
"Yes, I meant to talk to you about that.  Perhaps I should apologize for
being vague, but if I hadn't been, I'd probably still be there answering
questions."

"Hey, I was just being sociable.  I told Darvos you shared interests, and he
wanted to be introduced.  Poor guy may never realize you're a vampire."

"That's all right.  After all, most other people with 'interests' in me do a
lot worse than ask questions."  He looked around, eager to evade the memories.
"...But anyway, speaking of introduction, who's this with you?"

Lancos' smile widened slightly as he looked at his feet.  His cat was
sniffing at Kadrys, and warily looking at the vampire from the safety of
between Lancos' legs, though was not acting hostile.  "This is Bast, my
feline companion.  Ignore her actions, though; she's a bit tempermental."

Kadrys couldn't help turning a teasing grin on Lancos.  "Oh, does this
mean you finally admit to being a ranger?"

"You might say that, dude.  I guess I should allow people to call me what
they wish.  As long as it's complementary." Lancos added, with a wink.

For a half-second, Kadrys felt like checking his ears, a very unusual
sensation for the vampire.  "Did you call me 'dude' ?"

"Uh... probably.  Why?"

"I didn't expect it.  It makes you sound too much like 'Raelf."

"Hey, no fair, that doesn't sound complementary." Lancos teased, with
obvious sarcasm.  "Besides, to extend a saying, when in Generica, do as
the Genericans do.  And while on the subject of location, what are you
doing here?  Should I trust some of the rumors I've heard, and assume that
you came to see a woman named Kardia?"

The vampire grinned wryly and put on a mock-scolding tone.  "_You_ aren't
going to ask me when the wedding is too, are you?"

Lancos chuckled at that.  "I'm afraid you've got the wrong person for that.
I know such things usually take some time.  Perhaps even longer than you'd
like, but if you want things to work out, it's worth the wait."

"Glad to hear it.  Things proceed as they will." he said vaguely,
preferring to be secretive about his relationship.

"All right, then.  I wish you the best of luck.  If things go well, maybe
I'll even have another opportunity to offer you my ring."  he patted a bag
by his right hip, to further illustrate his thought.

The vampire rolled his eyes.  "So, we're to _that_ again, are we?  Look,
Lancos, I've told you already, perhaps _too_ often, that you're forgiven."

The warrior sighed.  "Yes, I know, and I believed it.  And I finally proved
to myself that I have control again."

"Ah.  That's good to hear.  But you still feel you owe me something?"  After
a nod by the ranger, he stuck his fists on his hips and sighed with
melodramatic exasperation.  He gave a wicked white smile and said with
exaggerated patience "Lancos, would you feel happier if I _had_ ripped your
throat out?"

"Well, I _was_ thinking of giving you something you normally couldn't ask
for."  Kadrys raised an eyebrow.  Lancos paused, to apply a hint of a
smile to his next words.  "Of course, I thought I wouldn't need to give
quite so much of myself."

Kadrys grinned at the remark.  It -- like most of Lancos' behavior today --
reminded him of their first encounter.  The warrior seemed a little more
carefree than after the DragonQuest, which in Kadrys' eyes was a good sign.
"I don't suppose I could ask you to just drop it." the vampire countered
wryly.  When the only reply a shrug of the shoulders, he added "Well, at
least you didn't say you couldn't..."

"Yeah, like I said, I'm better now.  Though I _did_ have some major doubt
-- probably even deeper than I let show, because it was something I wanted
to handle myself.  But if you'd asked me at the time in Ak'Irneg, if I'd
felt happier if you'd done that to me, I just might have said 'yes'."

"Well, that would have left me speechless... You see, I always _was_ too
polite to talk with my mouth full."  Kadrys said with a grin calculated to
show his fangs.

"How nice.  I don't suppose you would have actually left enough for me to
become a vampire myself?"  Lancos kidded back, intentionally bringing up
his supposed fate in one of the other timelines 'Raelf had told of after
the DragonQuest.

"Well, if Alita had asked nicely, I might have left enough for her to
make you a love slave."

"Alita?  Nice?  Not likely.  Still, she would have offered quite the way
to go..."

They exchanged a laugh at that, to put an end to the subject, one neither
of them would ever pursue seriously.

"So."  the vampire continued.  "How did _you_ make your way to 'Raelf's?"

"Oh.  I came here after working with the band, to visit Little Rat.  I
brought her her for safety, although right now, I'm going to take her to
the woods."

Kadrys was a little taken aback.  Lancos had interests in the band, and
this child?  These were aspects he'd never seen from the ranger, and he
smiled inwardly.  In fact, he really felt more satisfied than surprised,
the idea of new depths in people always pleasing to his old soul.  "Safety?"
Kadrys grinned slowly,  "Are you questing again?"  he asked with a hint of
teasing disbelief.

"At the time.  Not now, although who knows how soon I'll return to it.  I
guess one thing you can say about us ex-DragonQuesters is that we keep
busy." he offered, with a wink.

Kadrys cast his mind back to recent events: riding the dangerous winds of
the storm, agreeing to help Andrea, the relationship with Kardia.  In a
way, it was such activity that made him feel more human; more alive.
"I don't suppose I can argue with that!" he murmured, his smile softening
into a pensive expression.

It was just at that time that Little Rat walked in, with a pack over her
shoulder.  "Uh, hi." she said warily.  "Lex hepped me pack, an he said
you'd be here."

Lancos nodded.  "Do you know Kadrys, Little Rat?" he asked, pointing to
the vampire, who gave a small bow of greeting at the mention of his name.

"Yeah.  I remembers givin a rib to him, 'cause he was pale.  Don't look
betta now, though."

"Oh, don't worry about him, he'll be fine.  Right?"

"Of course." Kadrys assured.  "And since I'm sure you have preparations
to make, I'll leave you to them."  He nodded in farewell and left the room.

"Hope to see you again soon."  Lancos called, barely raising his voice.

"Thin he heard ya?"  Little Rat asked.

"Trust me."  the warrior smiled.  "Shall we go?"

Little Rat nodded, and they went side-by-side out 'Raelf's front door.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Love and Peace and Feeding Vampires {:-)!},
Michael Sander 344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu