Something beautiful and tragic in the fallout (Attn: Br'son/Z'ash)

Three dragons emerged above the grassy hills to the west of the Weyr complex. Ones hide was a shimmering titanium, colors shifting in beautiful ombre in the sunlight. Smaller, but still shining in the light, a bronze, whose hide reflected and refracted the sun everywhere it hit him. The third, as black as night, absorbing the light instead of reflecting it like the other two.

Teagan was focused on the mundane details of the dragons hides until they had all circled down, trying to keep her mind off all the possible outcomes. She had stood up, in front of the leaders of the Weyr, and said she could do this. There was no backing down, now.

We will be fine, Ensieth said, brimming with confidence and practically vibrating with excitement. She knelt down to let her small rider slide to the ground. They'd perfected the movement ever since Ensieth had grown so much more quickly than her young rider.

Well, soon they would change that.

She grinned at Z'ash and Br'son carelessly, like jumping through time was something she did on a daily basis. "Any last orders, boss?" she asked the Weyrsenior with a cheeky little grin. Just the three of them out here, so no need to rely on formality.

Br'son looked gravely at Teagan's excited smile, then over at Z'ash. Young. Too young, both of them. He wanted to order them back to the Weyr. He wanted to tell them to forget the whole thing. He wanted to say he'd go himself...

But none of those things were possible. That was the tragedy of it all. Such a poor situation he'd landed himself in as Weyrsenior, that he had to send his youngest and brightest out to do the most dangerous of tasks.

Yllaveth said nothing, but her everpresent, rocksteady confidence in him pulsed against his consciousness. Br'son took a deep breath, closed his eyes briefly, and then opened them again. He was resolute. They would do this, and return successful. He had to believe it, if they were to have any chance at all.

"Remember your coordinates," he said. "Remember the precise placement of the moons low in the sky, of the clouds just as they are now. Of the sun setting off to the west. It is critical that you fix this mental picture in your memory, for this is the moment to which you must return, no matter what you find on the other side. Yllaveth and I will be here, waiting. Good luck and fair winds to you both. You can do this."

He stopped himself abruptly. He didn't want to sound as if he were convincing himself.

"On your command, then, Junior Weyrwoman."

Z'ash listened to ever word, his eyes fixed on Br'sons face. Those intent eyes flicked over to note the position of the moons and the light gathered in the sky. He noted the surrounding land, making sure to repeat to himself,  several times, the particular details of the moment.

"As you command, Weyrwoman." Z'ash said to Teagan, giving her the full honor of the title. She would be his senior Weyrwoman, though how much his remained to be seen. Manticath didn't seemed to worried that Eniseth would reject him; he had been eager to point out his fine qualities to his rider.

'As if I could ever forget them.'

As was usual when her full title was used, Teagan blushed, giving Z'ash a push against his arm and grinning. "Wings up, then," she said, grinning with the bravado that was seeping through Ensieth. The shadow rumbled an amused agreement and began to resettle.

Prism was curled tightly in a makeshift sling under her jacket, and peeked her head out and chirped, her eyes whirling with excitement. Teagan had tried to explain the situation and convince the firelizard she would be back momentarily, but her angry noises had left no room for argument: she was going as well.

Teagan snapped off a salute to the Weyrsenior and went to mount (or climb, really) Ensieth, then paused, her hands trembling slightly. Without warning she turned and ran back to Br'son, throwing her arms around his waist and hugging him right.

"We'll be right back," she whispered fiercely, for both their sakes, then she was gone, scrambling up Ensieth and checking her straps.

The two dragons were in sync as they rose to the appropriate height, and Teagan took several deep breaths as she visualized their destination. Ensieths' excitement felt like a band inside her about to snap, her faith in her rider and Manticath filling her with excitement.

Let's go!

Then the sky was empty.

Br'son counted to one hundred. Then two. His heart began to pound in his chest.

No, they're fine, he told himself. They're totally fine! We have no idea how long it takes to jump between times. I will not panic.

Yllaveth was uncharacteristically silent, watching the sky intently. The Weyrsenior fumbled for the waterskin on his harness and took a long drink, forcing his mind to calm as best he could. They would be here. He just had to keep his cool and wait.

Two hundred and one. Two hundred and two...

I am with you! I am always with you! Manticath called. Then they were Between. Z'ash concentrated on the coordinates and though it was black, bitter cold and Eniseth seemed to fade before his eyes. He could still feel her and sense her. Z'ash was with him and he was Manticath, of Parazath and Maraxith.

'Black, blacker, blackest.' Z'ash chanted to himself.

Br'son had reached a count of 700.

Sweat poured down his face as he paced in front of his queen, glancing upwards every few moments. But the sky stayed empty.

He'd stopped counting at 700, and now he wondered how much longer he would wait before returning to the Weyr. Alone.

Yllaveth raised her head suddenly and gave a triumphant roar, startling her rider. He almost missed it, between looking at his dragon and back up at the sky. Almost.

A bronze and a shadow burst from between , the two dragons trumpeting a welcome to Yllaveth immediately. Br'sons heart leapt into his throat and he stood frozen, trying to wrap his mind around the two full grown dragons that had just appeared.

The dragons landed nearby, sleek onyx and bronze hides shining in the sun. Two strangers dismounted, and the sound of a woman's voice reached his ears.

"I told you the placement was wrong," the unknown woman was saying teasingly, punching the man beside her playfully in the arm. "Should have listened to me!" The bickering was gentle and flirtatious.

And Br'son just stood there, locked in place as the two adults approached him. The woman had a giant smile on her face, pulling her helmet off to allow a glory of waist length, streaked blonde hair. And the eyes that met his suddenly, so proud and so familiar.

Suddenly the woman was in his arms, hugging him tightly. "Sorry we're late, boss," she said with a proud grin, releasing him and taking a step back. "There was a slight change of plans."

"Teagan?" Br'son breathed, his eyes darting from her face over to the man's and back. It could be... the bone structure was there. And the bronzerider, taller, but still slender. "Z'ash? Is it really you two? What... what happened??"

The shadow rider laughed, a deeper, throatier sound than the giggles that for Br'son were just earlier that day. "Things got complicated," she said with a wry smile. "We'd probably be best off discussing this at the Weyr. You'll probably need to sit down."

Almost without thinking, her hand found Z'ashs and she gave it a gentle squeeze. The trip had left her a little discombobulated, and she was tired and in desperate need of hot klah to warm her insides.

Around that time, Prism worked her way out of Teagans jacket with an annoyed sqwak. Much like Ensieth and Teagan, the amethyst firelizard had grown. She shifted her position until she was wrapped around the queenriders shoulders, keeping an eye on Br'son.

"Ensieth has laid six strong clutches," she said, casting a proud and secretive smile at Z'ash. "And she's due to rise again soon." The next smile was a little wicked and aimed at the Weyrsenior. "You'll be glad to hear she allows any and all to chase her."

The shy and retiring weyrling was gone. The young man who dismounted a fully grown Manticath was the spitting image of his father, Wingrider Z'fel. Dark brown hair curled slightly in a short mane, dark eyes crinkling around the corners as his generous mouth broke into a grin. Long legs closed the distance between them quickly and Z'ash covered Teagan's palm in his large hand. He stood a little over six feet tall but still sported Ashrah's broad nose. Manticath issued a proper bugle to greet Yllaveth, his brassy voice echoing through the air. He was muscular; long of tail and wing. He shone bright bronze. He was easily as large as Maraxith, if not more so.

"Br'son!" Z'ash called and his voice as deeper. "Shards and shells, it's good to see you again!" He caught Teagan's eyes with his own and his grin was not so secretive. His teeth showed as he grinned back to her.

"Not that it does them any good with Manticath around." he chuckled. Manticath rumbled his agreement, his faceted eyes whirling blue and green as he looked toward Eniseth.

"The competition keeps him at the top of his game. " the bronzerider added with a smirk. To Br'sons question, he raised an eyebrow at his weyrmate.

"That's really your story to tell, love." Z'ash said to Teagan.

Ensieth gave a multi-octave trill, rubbing her slim head against the bronze next to her in an obvious show of preference. The shadow was easily the size of the largest browns, but even still the two larger dragons didn't dwarf her. There was a sense of power and confidence around the shadow that made her seem just as large as the others.

Teagan grinned at her bronzerider and raised herself on her toes to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek. She was still almost too skinny, but added inches and muscles brought about a maturity. She was still small, but gentle curves had replaced sharp bones and made it clear, this was not the child that had left almost an hour ago.

"Ensieth does have a strong preference for Manticath," she admitted to Br'son, but she kept her eyes on Z'ash with a little smile on her face that made it clear the queen wasn't the only one with a preference. They had spent the last five Turns discussing what their return would be like, and now that they stood there with Br'son the excitement and nerves were draining out of her.

She leaned her head against the bronzeriders arm, unconsciously giving a small sigh of happiness. Br'son had briefed them both on what they could tell his younger self without putting the future in unnecessary peril.

Right then, though, all she wanted to do was curl up next to Z'ash and take a nice, relaxing nap.

Br'son felt as if the very ground he stood on were shifting beneath him. He reached out a hand to steady himself, and as always, Yllaveth was there, strong and steady, putting steel in his spine.

Or titanium, as the case may be.

"Perhaps it's better told at the Weyr," he said, blinking at this new Teagan's kiss. "But why don't you just give me the gist of things now?"

As he spoke, it was clear that he was not asking as "Br'son, Teagan's friend", but rather as "The Weyrsenior". Older she may be, with twice as many clutches under her belt, but he'd be threaded if he was going to let his own Junior push him around when he was discomfited.

Be nice, Yllaveth said softly. This is still Manticath and Eniseth. They have come a long way and are tired. Be firm, but be nice, love of my heart.

"Just the main points," he added then, softening a touch. "And then we can head back and get you both comfortable. Please."

The young woman gave a tiny sigh of exasperation, pulling a face at the snap in Br'sons tone. Very slowly she unwrapped herself from Z'ashs arm, then stood at attention and looked up at Br'son. Though he was taller, she didn't waver in her eye contact.

"We made it to the destination time with no problem, but you were waiting for us. From after the Pass... the Interval you. We followed you from there."

Glancing back at Ensieth, a very proud smile on her face. "Ensieth rose for the first time a Turn and a half after we left, and Manticath caught her. She's risen on a regular basiseason, twice a Turn, since, and she's fast." The cocky little smile came back. "All six clutches have been large and produced a full compliment of healthy dragons each time." There was a definite coolness to her voice as she finished, "Just as you planned, Weyrsenior."

Sensing she was being talked about, Ensieth let out a contented purr, stretching out of her, graceful neck for all to admire. With her next flight coming so soon she was feeling especially confident, even with the confusing emotion at being older than her Dame present.

Teagan watched her Weyrsenior carefully while he processed the information, waiting to see how he would react, if he would press her for more details. Of course there were, but she was under strict instructions after all.

Br'son's eyes narrowed as his brain processed this information. The "interval him"? A future version of himself had changed their plans? Right now, he couldn't for the life of him imagine why... but that was beside the point. Clearly, unbelievable as it seemed, he'd done it. Obviously there was some reason his future self judged it worth the risk...

And for the love of little dragons, what a risk!! To keep Teagan and Z'ash in the future for five Turns? That couldn't have been easy, either for his future self, or for the young riders... young but his own age (!)... standing in front of him now. The possibilities of paradox were dizzying, and he quickly forced his mind away from that line of thought.

No help for it. Best to focus on the here and now.

"Wow," he said, finally, "I... you have my respect, both of you. That cannot have been easy. Did... I... give you any further instructions? About coming here? Are you... I assume you're staying for the five Turns that will bring our timelines back into alignment? Is that right?"

"Yes, sir," Teagan replied, her face and voice a mixture of conflicting emotions for a moment before she got control of herself and smooth her expression. "It's not too overly complex. You told me I could explain in further detail to you, but I need a board and chalk if it's going to make any sense." The plan seemed suicidal on the face of it, but Br'son had accounted for everything, as usual.

She made an amused sound. Perhaps that could wait until later. The Weyrsenior already looked like he'd been punched in the gut. And they had been warned not to reveal too much too quickly, and sworn to secrecy on other things.

She stood silently in front of the man who had spent 6 Turns now as her teacher, waiting for his recovery and response. She realized she had pushed just a little too hard earlier, and though the emotions still roiled around inside her, now was not the time.

"Okay. Okay, right," Br'son took a deep breath. "You're tired, and... cold," he said, guessing based on their posture. "And... this is big. We need to go back and talk to the Weyrleader and others..." he trailed off. Then shook his head.

"Yes. Let's go back to the Weyr. We'll... figure out the rest there."

Z'ash grinned but he was fighting down the growing headache; jumping through time was no picnic and it took it's own toll on the body. He would be happy with a mug of wine, rare meat and bread slathered with heaps of butter.

"Sounds like a plan, Weyrsenior. We follow you." Z'ash said, letting his brown eyes slide to Teagan. His tone was respectful but his gaze was full of understanding. It would be hard readjusting to the life they had left and then come back to in what must have seemed like an instant for Br'son.

'He paid the price but we bore the cost. Each of us will have to settle our own accounts with that knowledge and still find room to fit in as Tradition wills us.' he thought, giving Teagan's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Come, love. Let's go home."

Teagan relaxed again, the stiffness that she had addressed Br'son with seeping away. She clasped her hand over his, squeezing gently as she turned to smile at the young man who had been her anchor for the past five Turns.

She mounted Ensieth smoothly, in stark contrast to how the younger her had scrambled up not long ago right there. Time to head home dear one, she said with a small smirk. It would be a while before she found out if this really felt like home, but perhaps it was Z'ashs influence that made her hope.