On dragons wings, the world is changed (Tiiyn)

[shadowreine]

"I don't believe the cheek of that man!" Kevia exclaimed as she stalked across the bowl towards the amber form of her dragon.

Saeryth lifted her head, R'mel

"In one, partner," Kevia said, heading towards the gold's foreleg. She ignored the various other dragons. "He tricked K'mar into being somewhere else so as to be sure...he thought...of winning the flight. He admitted it. He's besotted with me, and he needs to learn his lesson."

She sprung up to the gold's neck, easily, with turns of practice. "Come on, let's be somewhere, anywhere, other than here."

[Tiiyn]

Saeryth's rider and Kazith's have been arguing, mine Nysaeth mused quietly to her rider, as they hovered above the weyrbowl watching the weyrlings practice flying to, landing on, and flying down from some of the higher sleeping weyrs. As one of the larger dragons in the Weyr - and one of the few not in wing drills - Shaeyn had volunteered their services to her father.

It has been brewing for a while hasn't it? domestic disputes weren't uncommon, and Shaeyn knew R'mel had not been entirely happy when another riders dragon had flown Saeryth, but it was for the good of the Weyr in Shaeyn's personal opinion; It was a gold's responsibility to produce clutches, and the better the father of the clutch, the better the offspring produced, which was better for the Weyr as a whole. All the same, the gold's words had Shaeyn seeking out the forms of Kevia and Saeryth on the ground, it was uncommon for Nysaeth to provide her with such information, but the gold's tone worried her somewhat. Is Kevia very distressed?

Teneth is near them, he says Kevia looks a little unlike herself, he is worried for their safety, and that of the eggs Saeryth carries... her clutch brother's caution apparently had Nysaeth concerned as well, for apparently she was checking what other dragons were nearby and ready for flight if the need arose We are the only pair close enough to follow, mine.

Nodding, Shaeyn frowned, then so be it - if they go, we follow.

[shadowreine]

Where shall we go? Saeryth asked as her rider settled into her neckstraps.

The cove. He won't look for us there.. R'mel notoriously hated water, spending time in it only to bathe himself and his dragon.

The gold lifted off, the eggs not slowing her down that much as yet. She would be broody soon enough, though, and then Kevia would have no escape from R'mel short of literally hiding in the hatching cavern. Her wings caught a thermal to carry them upwards.

She was not, quite, fleeing. Truthfully, she was more worried about what she might do to R'mel than the reverse. Like, oh, slapping him in front of the entire Weyr.

[Tiiyn]

They fly, mine, half watching the latest of the weyrling pairs safely fly up to the ledge, and then drop back down to the bowl, and half watching the older gold in the weyrbowl, Nysaeth spun her attention fully to Saeryth and her rider as she saw the dragon lift from the ground ready for flight. - do we still follow? she questioned, already readying herself to turn and fall in behind the other pair.

We follow, dearheart, Shaeyn confirmed, glancing back at the weyrlings below, Warn D'dyn that we cannot assist him any longer. That responsibility removed from her, as she saw D'dyn glance skywards and wave to show he'd understood, Shaeyn turned her attention fully Kevia and her dragon, Do you have the co-ordinates they are going too...? It was neither polite, or common place, for Shaeyn to have Nysaeth take co-ordinates that were not given to her, but there were situations that warranted it - and no-one else was going to be airbound quick enough - not even D'dyn and his brown, who Shaeyn could see readying themselves out of the corner of her eye.

I do, ridermine.

Satisfied, Shaeyn nodded again, wordlessly encouraging Nysaeth to turn in readiness, Then follow when they go, don't wait.

[shadowreine]

Higher, higher, gold wings catching a different updraft, until Saeryth was in clear airspace.

I have it, my rider

Gold and rider, each thoroughly confident that they had the coordinates...but a rider secretly desiring nothing more than to go where R'mel could not find her.

Only that was in the depths of Kevia's mind and heart as Saeryth leapt *between*. The time a man coughs thrice...past and gone...

[Tiiyn]

Nysaeth turned, and rose, following where the other led - chasing her, although both rider and dragon doubted as much was realised by the pursued. Then the co-ordinates shifted, just slightly, and then the other gold and rider were gone. The split second conversation that followed ended almost before it had begun, ridermine...?

Go!

And so they went.

Black, blacker, blackest

To long between. To dark. To cold. To far through the rhyme that Shaeyn had known since birth.

And cold beyond frozen things...

[shadowreine]

And gold Saeryth appearing in the air high above Castaway. I was imaging the cove!

She'd landed right back where she started. Or had she? That blue dragon, he was not there before, neither was the black on the rim.

Too long between. Where there is naught to life but fragile dragon wings.

Too long between...what had *happened*?

[Tiiyn]

They were too long between, even Nysaeth's soothing presence wasn't enough to keep the edges of concern from Shaeyn's mind, and it was with a huge sigh of relief that they emerged from between - above the open air of the Weyr.

Nysaeth? Where are we...? Shaeyn asked, craning to look down over the golden dragoness' shoulder. It looked like the Weyr they had just left behind, but it was slightly different - there were trees in the wrong places, and the Weyrlings were not in the weyrbowl as they had been only moments before. It was the Weyr, but it was not. "KEVIA!" The call was whipped away almost as soon as she had uttered the cry, but the point was merely to get the other goldrider's attention, not talk to her directly. That is where Nysaeth came in.

We are above the Weyr mine... that fact was obvious, they were above the Weyr. Beyond that... Nysaeth was as lost as her rider was, so she turned her attention to the other gold Saeryth? Where are we...?.

[shadowreine]

We are above the Weyr, Saeryth sent back, every bit as confused. Like most dragons, she did not have that solid a sense of *when* she was.

Kevia turned. Shaeyn had followed her? Did that mean the other queenrider *did* care about something but the 'good of the Weyr'? No. Saeryth was egg heavy. That was all Shaeyn cared about.

She frowned, and looked down again. At least, there was no sign of R'mel. The amber gold began to wing downwards.

OOC: At this point, I think others can join? Tiiyn?

[Tiiyn]

It appears so, Saeryth Nysaeth agreed, studying the land below them again in the hopes of another clue explaining the situation it is Castaway, but it is not...

Warn the Weyr below of our arrival Shaeyn suggested quickly, her brain speeding through the situation. Where they were could wait, for the moment they needed to establish if they were safe, and if not, they needed to get away somewhere that was safer - and tell Saeryth to be ready to go between at the first sign of a threat. She flashed the gold a set of coordinates to a secluded area on the mainland she favoured, and knew Kevia was aware of.

Mine says we should be ready to go between again should we feel threatened, Nysaeth passed on the Saeryth, supplying the coordinates along with her words, then she let out a loud bugle to announce their presence to the Weyr.

OOC: Yep, I don't see why other people shouldn't join the thread now... infact, I kinda encouraged it with Nysaeth's "announcement" ^^.

[shadowreine]

Saeryth circled again, and sent to the other gold *and* to her rider, worried, There are far fewer dragons than there should be.

The gold was right...it seemed that only a handful of dragons were visible, with fewer blacks, creams, and purples than there should be. Kevia leaned over the gold's shoulder and saw weyrlings bathing very young dragonets. She began to develop a horrible suspicion...but talking to somebody was the only way to get an answer.

[Tiiyn]

We had better land. Shaeyn too had seen the lack of dragons visible below, although her attention had been specifically more on the lack of any visible golds - at all. A second glance below suggested there was at least one within the Weyr somewhere - the hatchlings suggested (but didn't garentuee) that - but it still made Shaeyn uneasy and she was quickly coming to a similar conclussion to Kevia. Are we before, or after, though? she questioned of Nysaeth - not expecting an answer.

If this was before, then why were there not records of their arrival? Had they been lost or hidden in the future? As for if this was after their time... that worried Shaeyn a great deal more. Was the Weyr failing?

Mine says we should land, Nysaeth directed at Saeryth. Although the other dragon had spoken directly to her own rider, Nysaeth was not one to talk to another's rider directly. She warns that she and yours should stay close to us though, incase. The statement made, Nysaeth banked down abruptly, announcing again to the Weyr that they meant no harm.

[Sparrow]

Rorth gave a bellow of surprise as the two Golds appeared in the Weyr bowl. They had just landed on the edge after a long patrol- the Brown was ready to go eat. But a pair of queens- one egg-heavy- was too much of a distraction. Who are they Mine?

Seated on Rorth's broad back, G'ryn shrugged. I've never seen them before. There are only three Golds here! And these are not them.

That is what I thought too Mine. Yet here they are. Rorth folded his wings and started in a trotting sort of gait across the bowl and towards the queens, keeping his head respectively low. Who is this that has appeared within Castaway's bowl? He asked.

And carrying eggs... G'ryn shook his head and dismounted Rorth, looking up at the pair of Golds with a mixture of fascination, confusion, and faint nervousness. What could cause two queens to suddenly appear in Castaway?

[shadowreine]

Saeryth backwinged to a landing, more careful than she otherwise might be. Her rider, though, did not unbuckle her straps. She was ready to take off again, just in case. G'ryn might see that her face, too, was marked by confusion.

Kevia did not know this brown or his rider. She was in the past. She had to...she wracked her brain. Don't tell them about the future.

They had to get back. This was not good, none of it. Yet, could Saeryth's eggs survive a second long trip between? She studied the bowl nonetheless, looking for changes, for landmarks they could maybe use to jump back ahead.

Finally, she spoke. "I am Kevia, gold Saeryth's, and we appear to be just a little bit...lost." Lost in time, if not space.

That brown confirmed it, he was just a touch too small, dragons had grown a tiny bit more...

[Tiiyn]

"Shaeyn and Nysaeth," Shaeyn added, as Nysaeth settled quietly between the brown and the other gold. It maybe wasn't obviously, but then again maybe it was, but both Shaeyn and Nysaeth knew the added protection of Saeryth was probably warranted in the other golds current state. If push came to shove, Nysaeth could give the other gold another moment to get airborne if she needed to.

The future, or the past? Nysaeth questioned of Saeryth, her rider hadn't noticed the size difference (or if she had, had just put it down to him being a smaller then average brown or something), or any other indication either way, and so the pair were still undecided as to their fate. That they had timed it between times was however fairly obvious - and the prospect of a second trip between harming Saeryth's eggs possibly further had just occurred to the gold and her rider, and Shaeyn's frown was showing she obviously wasn't happy.

If this was the future, then Shaeyn could maybe go back alone - tell the Weyr she hadn't been able to follow Saeryth - but if it was the past, then in Shaeyn's mind she would have to stay. Help protect the other gold, and in her own way help add to the dragon population so that it was larger by her time.

Which had a thought popping into her head. Once upon a time an old dragonrider had commented that Nysaeth had 'taken another's name'... was this what they had meant? Not that she'd taken another's name... but that she had been here in the past, and so to the futures knowledge, the newborn hatchling had taken on an old dragons name?