On the left, older sister Khaliid is as dignified as she can be with as hyperactive of a sister as she has. Khaliid is 20 years old, and has always been interested in building things like houses, caers, buildings and structures.

Her work has gained her a journeyman's rank in the Guild of Architechts, and she is very proud of this.

Khaled on the other hand... Is a 17 year old blabberbox, with her heart set on learning more about gadgets and toys and selling them through the Merchants guilds, than anything else. Khaled has a talent for fixing small devices, though, and purely because of that she is allowed to call herself a senior apprentice to the Laree Machinists Guild of Dawnlight.

Born on the old world, but blissfully unaware of its passage into Alskyr territory, the girls have made their way strongly - and loudly - through their ranks.

On a joint trip into Blackstone, the girls were searched by one of the lazy older blues - a cause for celebration for at least Khaled's instructors...

"You've got to be prepared for dragons," said the dark skinned rider, "because they're always prepared for people."

The young Carr girls looked at each other with a doubtful eyebrow raised, and shrugged. Khaliid mouthed but did not say aloud, 'what's that supposed to mean?' and her sister turned to the rider.

"What's that mean sir? That's really confusing." She said, tilting her head and looking like her head was about to fall off if she didn't get an answer soon. Her sister sighed.

"Of course it is," he replied. "Dragons are telepathic, child, so it's highly unlikely you're ever going to be able to surprise a dragon. With anything." He glanced between the pair. "Other than how you two could possibly be sisters..."

"So," Khaliid said, trying to calm her sister down, "humans are always the ones getting surprised by dragons - even though they're so big?"

He nodded, but Khaled hadn't finished. "But how can we surprise them then? Can't you sneak up on them and not make a sound? What about dropping from a rafter? What about-"

"Khaled," her sister shot, in that I'm-talking-now-shut-up voice. "He means that they can sense you coming, they could probably even sense you before you're within hearing or sight range anyway."

"Some can," the rider said, and turned to his wall of charts. "This is a basic dragon anatomy chart. You'll be required to learn most of it, but you won't usually have to worry about injuries to your dragon here."

"Why not?" Khaled snuck in before her sister could say anything.

"Because the local dragons don't usually let ours participate." The rider said, rather mysteriously. The huge glare that Khaliid was giving Khaled stopped the younger girl from trying to get more out of him. Instead, he was allowed to continue helping with the basic knowledge that the girls would have to have when they got to their proper hatching sands.

They learned that they'd be made to actually sweep up, clean, wash and dry, in addition to their duties as dragon bonds - feeding and cleaning the dragons, checking for parasites and injuries, training endlessly toward riding the skies. Assembling riding gear, keeping it in working order, all that stuff.

At that point, in the evening before they were to travel to Quinalt, even Khaliid was a bit exasperated. "Don't weyrs have servants to clean and mop up? And fix clothing? I've never sewn in my life! I'm an architecht!"

"I'm looking forward to the tack - I don't want to muck around with the rest of that stuff... But you know both of us will be able to pull off training duties, Khaliid," Khaled proudly smiled, "Because once one of us does something, you know the other's gonna have to do better."

Khaliid sighed with a grin, "you're right, I guess, but I don't know the first thing about house cleaning - only building them..."

"You'll do fine." The rider said. "Now, get some sleep, and wear warm clothing for the ride. It's... Much longer than you'll remember. Ah - and, you'll both need to think hard about this." He handed them both a strangely slick print out of the night sky.

"That's the Gear," Khaled said, "It's my favorite constallation."

"Good," the rider said. "Because you're going to have to orient by the stars to return here." He left them in the rider's training room, which was otherwise empty. Books and charts and paperwork were in every nook of the place. Khaliid had to restrain her sister from diving into the boxes of private papers, and dragged her back to their temporary den in the Caer's halls.

***

"What do you think he really meant, that the local dragons don't let ours play? I don't get it." Khaled muttered, in the late of the night. Their den was quiet, but breezy - and they could see the sky had spotty clouds covering some of the stars.

"I don't know. But I think... when we get to Quinalt we'll know. Go to sleep, 'Led."

"Kay, 'Liid."

***

When morning came, and the girls had their things packed up - they had already been traveling so their clothing was fit for it - the rider came by their den, and led them to his dragon. A large blue, Krynth stood proudly in the courtyard. Ru'di patted the blue's side. "He'll be happy to take all of your things, too. He's a good courier. We're used to long travels."

"How far is it to Quinalt? I don't know what isle it's on." Khaliid asked somewhat innocently. Ru'di sighed and helped the girls aboard. They were both somewhat short, for their builds, but they were cute and healthy and certainly ready to bond. The caer could use these girls - their Guilds could too.

"It's ... pretty far. You'll understand why when we arrive. Did you study that star pattern?"

"We did," Khaliid said.

"I have mine," Khaled said, apparently having it folded up in one of her warm travel-jacket's pockets, she hugged it to herself.

"Good. Now, don't lose it. Remember the smell of the caer, or the way your homestead looks, you'll have to concentrate."

They took to the sky, the older Aden dragon taking everyone by surprise as he sprang into the air. Spreading his wings, he gained speed and then they teleported away.

*** ***

Several long moments later, when the girls were frozen to the bone and almost out of breath, the blue emerged from the depths of the Nexus. Over a broad, blue lake they flew - and into a huge hollow mountain!

"This... this isn't our home," Said Khaliid, uncomfortably.

"It will be for about two years, if you're lucky," Ru'di said, but he knew that the girl was concerned. She had no clue. But she would have to learn sooner or later.

"Yes it is, it's just fine," said Khaled. "Look, it's simply great! There are flitters! There are dragons! I dreamed about places like this. Be happy, 'Liid!"

"I am happy - I'm just a little lost..."

They dropped to the floor of the huge hollow mountain, and marveled at the grace of the interior. Khaliid's trepidation turned to amazement and then curiosity about it as they walked toward a group of non-riders. Several drudges carried off their equipment and baggage.

"You said they didn't have servants," Khaled grumbled to Ru'di.

"I didn't say that. I said you'll have to be doing work. There's a difference."

"Is he bothering you," said a woman, grinning. "Ru'di I swear. You keep telling people lies about our weyr and I'll have to make sure you don't come back." She wore a jacket that had a green-dragon emblem on it, apparently a local rider. "I'm Narize, it's nice to see people coming so far for our sands."

Ru'di made some strange face, and Narize glanced at him. "You... have ... told them, haven't you? I mean, I always like to assume that you know already..."

"KNOW WHAT?!" Bellowed the normally sedate Khaliid. "We've been beating around this bush long enough! What's to know?"

"That you're on Pern, not Alskyr?" Ru'di said, and Khaliid turned slowly.

"..." She ground her jaw around and blinked once. "You mean, we've traveled not only between places, but between worlds?"

"Wow! Cool! You can do that, Krynth? Awesome!" Khaled cheered for the blue, who held his head quite high and apparently chided his rider for not having told the girls where they were headed.

"Now it's obvious why you wanted us to learn that chart. It's our only way home." Khaliid said, flatly. "I'm not very comfortable with this."

"I can tell," Narize said, draping her arm around the broad shoulder of the dark woman. "But you'll get used to it, and you won't be having any trouble getting back. We've had some extremely talented Dawnlight and Blackstone candidates stand - Zanzibar bonded to a gold, so you'll never worry, right?"

"I suppose not. A gold? Well, then, I guess we're not going to have trouble getting back. I'm good at memorization anyway, and she's got a cheat-sheet."

"Now I'm glad you told me that you'd need girls," Ru'di said to Narize as the girls were led away to their dens. "Your dragon just told Krynth about the sands incident."

"They'll do fine," Narize said. "They'll bond to the right dragons." She nodded.

"They'll have good guild positions when they come back."

"Why did you tell them they'd have to do drudge work? That's really annoying, Ru'di." The search rider nudged the dark man.

"Because I was told one time, that if something was going to prevent you from standing on the sands, it should. I was testing them. They didn't chicken out."

"Good for them. And good for us! That leaves only a couple more candidates to be found."

"Then get on it, woman!" Ru'di dodged Narize's tight fist...

***

It almost took forever. At least, it was forever to the Carr girls. It was really muggy and sticky, everyone was really hoping that the weyr would at least get a nice storm ... the weather obliged, but only partway with a sticky, warm rainstorm.

"This is so gross..." Khaliid complained.

"Well it can't be as bad as having to sit down on the sands in it," Khaled commented. Floating in the lake, they bumped into one or more of the other candidates as they drifted trying to get cool.

And of course, that was when Sarafinth decided to announce her eggs were hatching.

All of the candidates were girls, which struck most people as odd, but they came in to the sands anyway. The first to hatch was a brown, who found a good bond among the girls. A little egg, the smallest many people had seen in a while, broke to show off a white. The pretty little rare paired off to another of the girls.

Though they weren't really disappointed, both Khaled and Khaliid's imaginations went wild, if there was a white... Maybe there would be something new?

However, when a sturdy looking blue hatched and was cleaning himself up, when a nearby egg plopped on him and broke to reveal a green. The blue helped her up, almost dusting her off.

He walked toward Khaliid. She seemed confused, so I thought I'd help her. Don't be mad at me for not coming right to you, the blue asked, apparently broadly because many people laughed at his antic.

"Why would I be mad, Rehmath? I'd be mad if you did anything else!"

But while the blue was happy with one sister, the green didn't seem to know what to do next. She sat and wandered back to the eggs, but her mother butted her toward the candidates instead, commenting about the poor thing being a dimglow - among her eggs? The green squealed a bit, sad and a little embarrassed. At last, with a glare at the laughing folks on the stands, she stood and plopped herself down in front of Khaled. I do not like being called names!

"Don't worry about them, Ciraelth, they didn't mean anything by it."

***

The hatchlings grew quickly, Ciraelth out-shining her blue brother in size, but definitely not in smarts. Rehmath on the other hand decided that he would be the fastest, smartest dragon in the world.

Of course, all the other weyrlings thought that too, about themselves. He aimed to prove it though. He was first in the air, his strong wings supporting himself easily with flight practice. Khaliid was very proud of him, and did her best to keep up with the little terror. She was used to that, after all, with her sister...

Ciraelth did reasonably well at following instructions, Khaled thanked herself for having kept her copy of their star chart. The distractable green learned one thing at a time, one step at a time, so sending her between would be a chore at the least.

***

"It's sad to see it like this," Khaled said. She patted her green's neck, to comfort the dragon.

"It's unnerving," Khaliid replied. "But we've got to go, we've got to get back home."

The girls and their dragons lifted off and took one last look at the abandoned Weyr they'd bonded at. It was a time of upheaval, apparently, that they'd avoided by going to Alskyr with the rest of the protectorate. Some other places didn't get out, dwindled, and died. But it would always be a fond memory, they knew.

Well, the humans knew. Ciraelth didn't understand the first thing about it, all she knew was that there was an image of a particular pattern in her rider's mind, and that was where they would be heading next.