Disclaimer-- I do not own anything of Tammy's. I have also discovered that since I have not paid for a copywrite on Skye, I do not technically own her either. However, if you steal her, I will come and get you in the night and eat your toes. With mustard.

Dedication-- To my best friend Mary, for encouraging me to write and pursue my ideas. If I was making money off this (unfortunately I am not), I would take you to wherever Johnny Depp lives. Thanks for always being there for me.

So, onwards.

Skye Whyte woke that morning with a groan. She had been up late the night before reading and after healing all day, she now decided that her late hours had been a mistake. Her head ached fiercely, and she stumbled over to her chest of drawers blindly, eyes only half-open, to grope for the potion that would cure her headache. Skye often had trouble sleeping and would usually keep her candle burning late into the night. She would then regret her few hours of sleep the next morning, but never seemed able, or willing, to break her bad habit.

She sipped the potion and sighed in relief as her head stopped throbbing almost immediately. She had spelled the stuff herself, and made it strong enough to relieve even the fiercest of her headaches.

Skye dressed quickly in a shirt and breeches, then ran her fingers through her unruly black hair. Her curls were nearly impossible to tame; she didn't usually bother trying to brush them.

As Skye headed out the door, she remembered that Keladry had told her the day before that Neal of Queenscove had arrived. She smiled absently to herself before closing the door behind her.

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In the breakfast mess, Skye took her food from the servers, then glanced around the room. She headed over to the table where Kel sat with Neal.

As she drew near the table where they sat, Skye addressed Neal, "Well, it's good to see that you earned your knighthood without losing any limbs. You know, back at the University, we all had bets going on how long you'd last before you came crawling back to our classrooms and debates."

Neal looked up at the slim young woman before him. His stunned green eyes met her amber ones, set beneath even brows and below a tangle of black curls. A long, slender nose was decorated with a small silver stud--that was new, at least. He stared at the woman with a shocked expression on his face. "What in Mithros' name are you doing here?"

Skye grinned and continued as if Neal had never spoken. "Although we should have known; you're so stubborn that once you'd put your mind to something, you wouldn't shame yourself by giving up."

Neal smiled crookedly. "And I should have known that you would never lose your talent for showing up in the oddest places. Again I ask, what are you doing here?"

"Eating breakfast," Skye replied promptly before shoving porridge into her mouth.

Neal sighed gustily. "You know what I mean. Here, in New Hope, in the North, in a warzone no less. If I remember correctly, you were no warrior."

"I'm here to help heal. As it would seem, you're needed so badly here that with you gone, it was necessary to call me in to provide my services. Goddess only knows why you're believed to be so valuable," she teased.

"Apparently, others share that opinion," Neal said quietly, losing the smile he had worn during their friendly banter and looking down at the table.

"What's that supposed to--" Skye began, but Kel, who knew that Neal was thinking of Yuki again, chose that moment to speak, hoping to distract Neal from his lost love. "I'm feeling slightly confused here. You two know each other?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We were at the University together for a year before he came up with the idea of becoming a knight," Skye explained. "He and I were in the same year and had most of our classes together. After he left though, we pretty much lost track of each other."

Neal sighed again. "Well I tried to keep in touch. It became frustrating after I only received one of your letters for every five of mine. When I received one of yours for every ten of mine, I just about gave up."

Skye smiled at him apologetically. "I'm sorry. I told you I wasn't very good at writing."

"You always made good marks on the papers the Masters assigned us," Neal retorted.

"Yes, but that's different. I was actually motivated to write those papers. I mean, they told us they would make our noses purple with their magic if we didn't do the assigned work."

Kel shuddered. "Well, I'm glad I'm not Gifted and never had the need to attend the University."

Neal looked at Kel. "No, instead you decided to become a knight, with The Stump constantly threatening us all with the loss of life and limb. That's so much better than purple noses, I'm sure," he commented sarcastically. He turned to Skye. "Speaking of noses, when did you do that?" He touched her nose-ring with one finger.

"Oh, well, um, it's a long story. Basically I wasn't myself, that is to say, sober," she replied, grinning. "But I decided I liked it. It wasn't the strangest thing that went on among University students. When I left, everyone was dyeing their hair blue."

Turning to Kel, Skye asked, "Could you delay sending your reports to the Lord Wyldon? I need to do an invertory of our supplies, and I was hoping to send in some requests with your papers. It wouldn't need to be a long delay, just until noon, maybe. Long enough for me to look over our supplies."

"I think I could wait until noon to send the courier. Is there anything you would need help with?" Kel inquired. "I could send one of the clerks to assist with the inventory."

"That would be nice," Ske replied gratefully. "I despise making lists. If I could just--"

She was cut off abruptly when Neal interrupted. "You haven't used up all of my burn salves, have you?"

"Burn salves? There was a battle, not a fire, you numbskull," Skye responded. "Besides, I'm perfectly capable of making more burn salve if we ever do run out. What I'm worried about is our supply of poppies. If we run out of that, there's not much else in the way of painkillers." She sipped another spoonful of porridge and made a face. "It's cold."

"Now why would that be?" Neal asked drily. Then, continuing the previous topic, he added thoughtfully, "Poppies are a necessity for a healer. It's very difficult to work on a patient who won't stop screaming. And besides, it's best for them not to feel much while we work."

"Why don't you check and see how much we need," Kel suggested. "And then I'll send in a request for poppies and whatever else is needed. And I'll have one of the clerks come help you."

"Alright," Skye replied, and quickly finished her porridge, a pained expression on her face. "Remind me never to let my porridge sit like that again," she told Kel and Neal, then left to take her inventory, Neal following her.

Kel watched them leave together, arguing about something. She smiled thoughtfully. It was good Neal had run into an old friend. She wondered if the sparks flying between them would lead anywhere.

A/N -- Questions? Comments? Interpretive dances? Review, and all shall be revealed. I would also like to thank my beautiful reviewers. I love you all.

Second Disclaimer -- All interpretive dances belong to Niall.