That contentful doze was shattered by a savage searing pain in his tail. Tarrin was startled awake, yowling and hissing even as he became aware that something was seriously hurting his tail. He tried to pull away, but found himself being shaken by his tail, until he felt the flesh and bone of it give and pull away. Tarrin scrambled forward with blood spurting from the end of his severed tail, and turned to see one of the drakes with about four fingers of his tail in its mouth!

Tarrin slid unceremoniously off the bed and twisted to land on his feet, pain and shock giving way to a sudden unmitigated fury. Allia was scrambling in the other direction, also startled awake by Tarrin's howling, and she looked at him just in time to see him change form. His tail grew back in that transformation, and two green pools of unholy fury settled firmly on the small body of the little green-scaled drake. "Why you little-" he began, but he lost his ability to think rationally as the instincts of the Cat roared over his awareness.

The drake seemed to understand that it had gone too far. It turned and flew out the door in a panic, but Tarrin wasn't about to simply let it get away. He shattered the door as he raced after it, charging down the companionway as it flew back towards the hold. It flew through the open doorway and went up, and Tarrin followed in time to see it fly through a small hatch at the top, that led to the deck.

People on deck dove and fell in shock when Tarrin's body exploded through the deck itself seconds after one of Phandebrass' drakes flew from the opening, sending wooden shards flying in every direction. His eyes were lit from within with his anger, and a mask of rage was twisting his features as he continued to ascend after the flying reptile, claws on his paw reaching for it.

It almost got away. Tarrin's paw closed over the end of its tail, and its body sagged as the Were-cat yanked it out of the air as he fell back to the deck. It made no sound when Tarrin's feet hit the wood, and he carried the drake over his head and slammed it into the deck with enough force to send blood flying out of its maw and split its scaly hide in several places. It did not move, laying limply on the deck when he let go if it and stared viciously down at the little monster.

Sarraya got there first. She stared down at the dead drake and then gaped at him. "Tarrin, you killed him!" she gasped. "Why, for the forest's sake!"

"It bit off my tail!" Tarrin raged at the little Faerie, turning and padding away resolutely. "Now it knows better," he added with an ominous hiss, as the performers rushed over to look.

"Oh, poor little thing," one of the dancers, Deidre, said sadly. "Phandebrass is going to be heartbroken."

"Move," a strong voice called, and Camara Tal broke through the ring of performers. She looked down at the drake and said nothing, but the look in her eyes said it all.

"Can you heal it, Camara Tal?" Sarraya asked meekly.

"If you can peel it off the deck," Camara Tal snorted.

"Oh, please, you have to try!" Sarraya said with sincere concern. "It may not be dead yet!"

"Why do you care, bug?" Camara Tal asked directly as she knelt by the limp form. She put a hand on her amulet and then reached down and put her fingers on the reptile. "I heard about what you did to Tarrin and Faalken. Caring about others isn't exactly your strong suit."

Sarraya only gave the Amazon a stricken look. Camara Tal glanced into her small face, then looked down at the drake. "Consider yourself lucky, bug," she grunted. "This is a tough little rat." Camara Tal's amulet began to glow with a golden radiance, and that golden touch transfered to her hand. It limned over the body of the drake, and where its golden glow touched it, its injuries faded. The drake's eyes fluttered open, and it tried to struggle to its feet. "Someone take it back to Phandebrass, and tell him to put a leash on it," the Amazon ordered of the performers. She turned on Sarraya and poked a finger into the chest of the hovering Faerie, sending her back a span. "I know you had something to do with this, bug," she accused. "That look you gave me told me everything I need to know. Your games nearly got that rat killed, and that would have made Phandebrass very unhappy. If you don't stop these stupid games, someone alot more important than a living leather belt is going to die. Would you like to have some real blood on your hands, bug? Well?!"

The Faerie stared at her a moment, then burst into tears, hiding her face in her hands.

"I thought not. Now get out of my sight before I do something nasty to you," she grated, sweeping past the Faerie and stomping off.

The Faerie retreated from the accusing looks of the performers, who had heard it all, and spent a long time sitting on a rail looking out into the sea. She stayed there, in full view of everyone, until Dar approached her near sunset. "You can't just stay here forever," he said gently.

"I never meant to get Turnkey hurt," she sniffled. "I told him that the cat would play with him. He got too rough. Now everyone hates me, Tarrin probably wants to kill me, and I made a fool of myself. I want to go home," she sniffled petulantly.

"Tarrin's mad at you, but you know how he is. Just give him time, and he'll get over it. But I hope this tells you that a little fun is a good thing, but too much is a bad thing."

Sarraya nodded solemnly before sniffling again. "I just found out that being bored is better than feeling guilty," she admitted.

"Just remember that," Dar told her calmly.

Sarraya was quiet a moment. "Thank you for being nice to me," she said sheepishly.

"We all make mistakes, Sarraya," he said sagely. "Just don't do it again."

"I won't. I promise."

"That's good enough for me. Do you happen to play chess? I'm trying to find someone more my skill level. Allia, Faalken, and Tarrin destroy me every time."

"You'll have to teach me," Sarraya said with a sniffle, looking up at Dar with bright, apologetic eyes. "At least you'll have someone you can beat."

"With my luck, probably only for a few days," Dar grunted as Sarraya flitted off the rail and flew alongside the young Arkisian.

"Looks like Dar got through to her," Camara Tal grunted to Dolanna. The two were on the steering deck, watching on as Dar did what they told him to do. Of all of them, Dar was the most compassionate, and that strange way about him that made everyone like him made him perfect to help Sarraya get over her humiliation and try to get along with everyone else. Dar's unconscious charisma had worked its magic on Sarraya, getting her to open up to him and make agreements that she wouldn't have made with anyone else. "It's weird how he can say exactly what we'd say, but she reacts completely differently to him than she would to us."

"Dar has a special gift, Camara Tal," Dolanna replied calmly, watching the young man walk towards the bow. "His compassion shines from him like a gentle light, beckoning all who look upon it. His is a pure heart."

Camara Tal nodded in agreement, crossing her arms beneath her breasts and leaning against the rail, putting her back to the Arkisian. "Let's just hope the bug keeps her word," she grunted. "Phandebrass about had a conniption when he found out what she did to his pet. Let's not even talk about Allia and Tarrin, and Faalken's starting to look at her with a fly swatter in his eyes."

"We can always hope, Camara Tal," Dolanna replied seriously, looking to the west, to the setting sun. "We are starting to run out of time. We cannot afford petty squabbles among ourselves."

"We can't afford much of anything now," she grunted in assent. "Renoit told me we have to be there before midsummer. We're going to cut a very fine line as it is. The storm didn't help."

"No, it did not," Dolanna agreed. "With the favor of both our goddesses, may we get there on time. So much depends upon it."