"I want to go, and you really can't stop me," Tyssix said. Her tone wasn't all that nasty, but it was hardly nice. Her older brother Xenrai tapped his long nail on the desk, and his ears and tail both twitched to show his annoyance.

"Tyss, I just don't think you're ready for-"

"What makes you think you know what I'm ready for?" Tyss spat. "I'm just as mature as you, I've ..." She suddenly broke off, ears back and eyes avoiding his, she decided shortly that it was fine, what she had to say. "I've already had three heats, you don't know what that's like."

"And what makes you think I don't?" Xenrai said, quietly. "You know that we all can respond to those things. Even Cryten noticed it. It's not that I don't think you're physically mature enough, Tyss, I just don't want you out in the middle of nowhere getting jumped by those guys. You heard how Temih would talk about them."

"Temih was rather biased," Tyssix muttered. "She only wanted to have them leave her alone until she knew what she wanted out of life."

"And she was still pregnant anyway," Xenrai pointed out.

"Not by them!" Tyss said, exasperated. "Their tribe will die out, if they don't have any more females. It's a good thing that Ivo's genes knew what to do, she was lucky. It could have been half a litter of males, and then where would they be?"

The office that they sat in was rarely used, it was in the healer's section of the Den, along a rather well traveled hall. Every time they would hear someone stepping by, they would quiet down. Neither of them wanted anyone to know what they were arguing about. Such was the way for this family. Baeris' grandchildren carried a lot of her in them. They couldn't help it. She was a Sanger in mood even if she wasn't one in name. Thusly, they doubly inherited such things.

But they had long been taught by not only their grandmother but others as well, that they ought to talk first, yell later, and come to blows rarely over things. They followed those instructions, because they knew it would all be for the best. Eventually.

Xenrai knew that his sister would want to go to Planet Twenty, and 'help' their tribe. But it was a strange plan that he didn't much care for. They had grown up in the Nexus, but they frequently visited other worlds and places. She had little experience actually living off the land, none of them did really. When Temih and her daughters Mihve and Tovih all were ready to head back to the Planet, Tyssix wanted to go with.

She was able to perfectly well express why, too. The logic behind her arguments hardly had a flaw. But Xenrai was her older brother, after all, and was very protective of her. Tyssix wanted to be protective of something of her own. Her own children.

"But do you have to go and stay?" Xenrai finally said, after several people had drifted past their office and into the main halls. "I just don't like you being there alone. That's all."

"You don't think I would make it on my own? I mean, it's not like I'd be 'alone' at all, the Tribe all gathers and lives together. You saw the images."

Xenrai nodded. "I know. I just..."

"You just don't want some strange male Kin sniffing at me. But you don't get to do that. I think that's why you are jealous."

"I'm not jealous!" Xenrai said, "I'm-"

"You are so jealous! Because they're going to pay a world of attention to me and the girls, but if you were to be there, they'd all glower and growl at you because your'e male ." Tyssix said, almost mockingly. "Tell me that's not true?"

Xenrai was about to say something, but couldn't really get any words out. She was right of course. He wasn't really needed there. As both their parents were healers, all three siblings had a goodly amount of training in the medical arts. But they had no psionics whatsoever, which was why the Tribe was exiled to Planet Twenty in the first place. They would, in his opinion, be bringing down their genes by breeding with them. At least Ivo was a shapeshifter and had strong abilities to pass to his girls.

"I'll go with her," Cryten said, startling both his siblings. They had been so involved in staring at each other and snipping back and forth, that they didn't really notice him come in through the other door to the room. One which led to their other quarters, private areas of the Den. "I want to see this place, I want more experience than just here. And I'll tell you something that you might not have thought of. Even if," he said, clearly aware that they thought he was nuts, as he was much too young to be so calculating, "we don't have telepathy or some weird power, our mother's human. We bring that to them. The ability to breed with whomever they need to to carry on the line. Maybe it's just because we're all Sangers - the family tree doesn't split too much for us. But we're half and half, Mihve is more than both, and I only have to wonder what Tovih brings to their mix."

Cryten was young, yes. But he was clearly the smart one. Also the most patient of the three. He avoided their arguments mostly because he hated to hear his siblings fight over silly things. If Tyssix wanted to breed it was her decision to make. If she found a nice Kin, or a human, or whatever, that was her business. But obviously Xenrai wanted to keep track of her.

And he was also right about another thing: he would be more welcomed into the group of kin, because he was young and would fit into the lower echelons more easily than the older pair would. That, and he was about the same age as Mihve and Tovih, and he really didn't want to lose track of his age-mates.

"Then what am I going to do all alone?" Xenrai muttered.

Tyssix jumped into his lap and nuzzled her older brother, purring into his ear: "thank you. You'll think of something."

***

Temih's dragon could hardly carry all of this group. Tessrabia and Cynonix, Ivo and she all gathered around to get everyone back to Planet Twenty. But before they could leave the Den, something else happened that caught everyone off guard.

A contingent of Zekiran dragon masters or hopefuls showed up.

"This really changes everything," Tyssix whispered. Baeris heard, but did not say anything. She was too busy greeting and meeting and getting to know people. A couple of them looked almost human, while several looked to be catlike centaurs. Wings, multiple limbs, odd coloration on familiar features abounded.

"I should hope so," Tessrabia said, quietly. Cryten slid away from his mother and sister, so they could have a little private time. Wisely his older brother did the same.

"Mother," Tyssix grumbled, "we've been all over this."

"But now you don't have anything much to prove," Tess said. She'd grown somewhat more worldly and wise, in the time that she'd spent in the Nexus, Tessrabia looked young, yet sounded so much like her mother.

"Maybe not to you," Tyssix said, turning to face her mother. Her eyes were boldly wide, angry. "But what if I want to prove something about me, to myself? It isn't like I won't have a way home - Temih is a searcher here and she can get me back no problem. If there's something wrong, I'd be headed back here anyway. What is the problem with that?"

Tess sighed, "it's just that you will always be my little girl, and mothers protect their -"

"I wouldn't know!" Tyssix shouted, silencing all but a couple of the Zekirans, and making nearly all heads turn. "I don't have a family to take care of! And if it were up to you, I never would!"

She stormed over to Temih's beautiful speckled brown-green, folding her arms across her chest, and refused to look at her mother or father.

Cynonix was rather surprised. He'd felt that Tyssix could use a bit of outdoors adventures, so he hadn't even thought how much it might mean to Tess - or in fact to his daughter if denied. Temih wisely decided to stay out of this argument.

But Baeris thought it best to intervene. This time, on behalf of her granddaughter. She moved in next to her daughter, and nodded at Tyssix to give them a moment. The angry young cheetah-girl obliged her somewhat eagerly. But her ears betrayed her curiosity, they kept turning toward the conversation.

"Tess, she's a grown woman and she's made up her mind." Baeris reminded Tessrabia. "And besides, she does still have a place in their Tribe. She's far closer to them than either of us are, and ..." Baeris glanced toward the violet and golden spotted centaur-types hailing from a big generation-ship full of immortals, "she's far closer than they are. She'll be back before you know it, and she'll have such stories to tell."

"Mother, this is -" Tess started to say, but the taller raven-haired woman put her long fingers over Tessrabia's lips.

"Hush. Once upon a time I remember you wanting to see world upon world, and hoping that your exotic rider man would appear from some distant land." Baeris turned her daughter's face to look at Cynonix, who would have been blushing if his fur weren't in the way. "There is your handsome exotic prince, Tess. Now, it's time for you to allow your own daughter to find her charming lord." Baeris grinned and added quietly, "I know I didn't put up such a fuss when you wanted to go out and bond your dragon, you know. Now, go properly apologize and let her make her own way. Mistakes and all."

Humbled, Tessrabia looked at the ground and then back up at her mother. "All right, fine. But when she comes back mauled and scarred up from those predators -"

"Then Kalkin and I will just have to patch her up properly." Baeris said. "Such a scene you've made, my dear." She turned her attention onto her granddaughter, who wasn't sure whether the last comment was aimed at her, or Tess. "Your father is living proof that you can and will survive almost anything out there. Your mother's tenacity comes from me I suspect. So use it well."

"I will, I promise." Tyssix said. She threw her long arms around her grandmother, who retained all her grace and style, even though some forty years should have sent her into decline by then.

"Who all have we got here?" Tyssix asked of the Zekiran delegation. There was a tall dark skinned man, and beside him an equally dark woman, and one dragon nearby that she knew from the Naughty flight. " Vanya of Zekira, and...?"

" Viridia , my dear," the woman extended her dark hand. She was taller than Tyssix by more than a foot and a half, which made Vanya (who was taller than Viridia) rather towering in stature compared to the spotted girl.

"But you're not going to-" Tyssix said, and Viridia shook her head and laughed. It was a deep, musical voice that the woman had.

"No, no, but we have been wandering through space and time for a very very long time. We're tired of living in a starship - and we've found ourselves a planet that might suit our needs long term." Viridia said. "If those living around us on Planet Twenty agree, then we will set up a colony there. We've already begun diplomatic efforts on other portions of the world, but our ties will be closest to the Kin of this tribe." She waved a dark hand (it looked just like Baeris' only it was nearly charcoal black, Tyssix noticed - how odd.) at Temih , who nodded and grinned broadly.

"They're going to be helping out, like you. My daughters and I are ... obliged." The Kin of twelve and one (- now twelve and ... how many?) laughed.

Off they went, with Tyssix and Cryten in tow.

Baeris and Xenrai stood watching the procession of dragons leaving the big parking lot. "Do you think they'll be at a disadvantage until they bond dragons?" Baeris asked absently.

"... Should they be?" Xenrai said. "Are you saying that they should bond? I'm not paired up, and Cryten hasn't mentioned it really."

"Your parents, and grandparents, are all riders too, Xenrai," Baeris asserted, "I'm sure that a dragon will be on some sands for all of you. You might be surprised."

Baeris turned and swished back down the wide, bright hallway into the Den, as the static of the Nexus swirled about outside its bubble of air. Xenrai pondered her words, and wondered how long he would be bored before his siblings came home.

And, whether Tyssix would come back with kittens, or just what.

***

Xenrai sat alone in the media room, watching three movies at the same time, all with the sound off. None of them were even of the slightest interest to him, but his attention span was just barely long enough to keep every detail in mind.

"You are bored," said a voice from the doorway, it was Kalkin. "Come on into my office and you should talk to me."

Xenrai groaned, though he was in his twenties he sometimes seemed rather like an annoyed teenager. Kalkin was patient with him for more than a few reasons - he loved having the spotted half-cheetah around. He was ostensibly his grandson, anyway. So of course, he had to be patient for that reason too: he'd be a Sanger whether he knew it or not. And Sangers could be quite contrite and stubborn.

Just look at Baeris, Kalkin thought to himself, as he waited by the door. Xenrai finally picked himself up and ran his fingers through his rumpled fur. "Fine, fine. Are you working on something?"

"No, I'm not," Kalkin said, and noticed the pause in Xenrai's approach, "I just thought you'd want to talk."

They went in silence, and Xenrai knew that the older man didn't have to even spare a sideways glance to see him as they walked. His own eyes had a wide field of view, wider than normal anyway. Xenrai prided himself on being able to spot a bug in the corner of his eye and snatch it out of the air without killing it. That was a trick he'd picked up from Kalkin. Though Xenrai respected his grandfather, he was also aware that sometimes, Kalkin just went on tangents that made no sense.

Not at the time, anyway. There was usually some punch line a few days later, or during dinner or something. He had a weird sense of humor, that man did.

Cynonix was in the office too, and Xenrai sighed. He set himself down into one of the big leather chairs and leaned back, closing his deeply blue eyes and folding his fingers across his chest.

"You have been moping considerably more than usual," Cynonix said, "and don't think we haven't noticed."

"I didn't think it was something you'd need to worry about," Xenrai said. His eyes closed, he didn't see the smirk on his human grandfather's face. Oh how alike they all were.

"Well we are concerned," Kalkin said, after a moment. "You need to keep yourself busier."

"Why hasn't she even sent word? Why hasn't Cryten?" Xenrai said suddenly. This startled both Cynonix and Kalkin, and Xenrai was leaning up in the chair glancing at both of them with urgency. "Why hasn't someone gone to check?"

Not quite knowing what to make of this, Cynonix allowed his eyebrows to shoot up. He noticed Kalkin's doing the same. "We don't really think it's time yet, to worry about it." Cynonix finally said. This didn't seem to calm his son any.

"But they're out there, unprotected, in the wilderness!" Xenrai said, an edge to his voice.

"With a ship full of immortal Zekirans to watch over them, and a dozen dragons added to that," Kalkin pointed out. "I would hardly say they are unprotected."

"Your sister can in fact take care of herself," Cynonix said. "And your little brother is perfectly able himself. Why didn't you choose to go along with them?"

"Because Tyssix thought I wouldn't be accepted - because I'm a male, and older than Cryten." He sighed. "It makes a certain sense."

"Well you could have gone anyway," Kalkin said. "With the Zekirans, you could have helped them set up."

"They don't need help," Xenrai said, rolling his eyes. "They've colonized hundreds of planets in their time, and I don't think this one will give them any problems."

"Well then you're just going to have to sit here and live with that," Cynonix said, and got out of his chair. "I'll be in the flight zone, if you need me. Ishioth wants to fly a bit."

"Tell Sixth to get some exersize too," Kalkin said, smiling and escorting his furry son to the door. But he blocked Xenrai from leaving just yet. He saw the grind of Xenrai's jaw, but the young half-cat said nothing. Wordlessly, they both went back to their chairs.

They sat in silence, until Kalkin opened up a drawer in the big black desk he sat behind. He opened a scroll that had a blood red ribbon wrapped around it. "You know, you could do something useful for me," Kalkin said.

"And what would that be?" Xenrai said, interested but not really wanting to know what he'd be getting into.

Kalkin opened the scroll and there were strangely familiar lines drawn on it along with a couple diagrams. "You could go to Vella Crean for me, and donate some genetic material. I'm sure that Shy would want your genes as much as mine. And I'm tired of scraping him off me when I go there."

The look on Xenrai's face was precious, and the older man broke into a full laugh at the sight of it. Poor Xenrai's ear went half down, part of his lip went half up, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. His tail twitched, and he tried to stop it by clutching it between his furry knees.

"I ... could do that," Xenrai said, quietly, "I suppose."

Kalkin's smirk went all the way ear to ear at that.

***

Disruptor was happy to oblige her science teacher's request to take the cute furry guy to Vella Crean. It meant extra credit in his class, and any time she could squeeze more than a B average onto her report card she got to do something special with her mother. So, off they went.

Of course, Baeris was shocked that Kalkin would send two kids into Shy's offices alone . Kalkin assured her that they would be just fine. It was time he cornered Baeris without the hassles of the younger units anyway. They always looked at the adults funny.

Disruptor's big blue-green-black dragon handled the trip perfectly well, and they landed at Vella Crean without hassle.

"Where is this guy, then?" Disruptor asked, "and why didn't Doc Sanger want to go?"

Xenrai rounded his shoulders and glanced at the girl. "Because Shy apparently wants him to breed full time or something."

"Doesn't he already?" Disruptor said, offhand having noticed that the guy had children of every possible description in every corner of the multiverse. Xenrai gave a chuckle at that thought.

"Here, this way." He looked at the map that Kalkin had provided, and then ducked when a pale grey-white flitter swooped down and landed on his shoulder. After the initial shock wore off, he noticed it was a familiar flit. "Tsuki, what do you want?"

The white flit handed off another scroll, which was labeled clearly to Shy, and then took off.

"Well, I guess we're delivering this now too." Xenrai said. They went down corridor after corridor, and then finally appeared at a lift.

Disruptor was always amazed to see such things at dragon locales. She'd always assumed that they were future-worldy things, like electric energy and gas power. But many caers, weyrs and nexus sites seemed to be fully functional with computers and everything. Why not? It made finding dragon partners much quicker.

They exited the lift after having gone down quite a ways. The rooms were bathed in red trim, black walls had Japanese-style lanterns hung over windows that looked out upon places that could not be reached by conventional means. There were silken tapestries draped down from the ceiling and around pillars, and incense burned in large copper basins. It was both calming and eerie. Noises of animals could be heard, but not from any particular direction.

"Are you totally creeped out?" Disruptor asked, and Xenrai nodded. His eyes showed white around the blues they were so wide. "It'll be okay. We can give this to him and leave, right?"

"Uh..." Xenrai said, glancing at the girl. "Well, you know I'm here to um..." He hemmed and hawed. Well, she had Kalkin as a teacher so she must know - "I'm here to donate, you know, like, donate."

"Oh! Cool. That takes the mystery out of things, doesn't it. And chances are you'll get paired off with something cool anyway, right?" Disruptor seemed to take that way too easily.

Xenrai and she continued to walk until they saw a brightly lit white-walled room where a tall slender man wearing an elegant silken cheongsam stood looking at beakers and bubbling tubes. He barely turned his head, looking at the pair of furry (well, one was naturally furry and the girl...?) kids. A narrow smile went over his sharp lips.

"Ah, welcome," he said. His voice was willowy and soft, yet had a tone to it that put Xenrai on edge. Disruptor walked right up to the guy and handed him the scroll.

"This is for you, I think it's from Doc Sanger." She said, and Xenrai looked around the room. There were ... things... in beakers everywhere. Animal parts, things that just looked like jello, eyeballs, organs... While he had been raised around science and breeding rooms, this was far beyond what Kalkin ever really showed off.

He didn't know that Doc Sanger's lab looked just like this, on Twoarth.

With glee, though, Shy plucked the scroll from the girl's hand. He opened it rapidly and read it silently, eyes narrowing in places, but then pressed by his high cheeks in a smile at the last.

"It is almost time for tea, would you like to sit down?" Shy asked, holding his pale hand toward another room away from this scary lab.

Disruptor nodded, and grasped Xenrai's limp hand. "Come on," she said, "don't be so unfriendly," she whispered to him more quietly.

"I can see that your reaction runs in your family," Shy said, pronouncing everything so clearly though it all seemed to sound as if English was not his native tongue. "Do not fear, young Xenrai," he addressed the cat man, "I will show you anything you desire to know, I only keep my projects secret until they are ready to be unveiled. And so very rarely are they kept secret forever."

"I'd want to know what you do with my ... samples," Xenrai said, flat out.

With a faint pause, Shy sipped at his tea. "Your tea is getting cold."

Disruptor sat and watched the two men. Shy was certainly a mature guy, but he hardly looked an hour older than 'stunning'. Of course he was a lot more girly-guy than she liked. But he was pretty and anyone could appreciate the guy's appearance. Apparently, anyone except a Sanger like Xenrai.

"I'd want to know too, but sheesh - he's a mad scientist," Disruptor said, "there's a class at Carramba High for mad scientists in training. In fact I think there's a whole wing of the Science building for it."

Shy leaned back a little, and tipped his head to her. "Yes, I have seen the facilities there. They are not quite to my liking."

"Well, they're publically funded, what do you expect?" Disruptor said. "Even Doc Sanger has to hide the bodies somewhere, when it's open house."

Xenrai nearly choked on his tea. He put the cup down and sat stiffly in the beautifully embroidered overstuffed chair. He busied himself by looking at the stitchery under his fingers.

When Shy had finished his tea, and Disruptor and he had had quite the interesting discussion about what might constitute a failure in terms of breeding, and how her own powers would pass if she were to breed 'normally' with someone, they both stood and seemed to expect Xenrai to do the same.

"I still want to know what happens." Xenrai said.

"Xenrai," Shy said carefully - and a bit coldly - "your grandfather and I have an agreement. Of course you will know what happens. I have certain ... genetic needs here in my lab. And far from ruining your family's beautiful genetics, I intend to ... enhance them. I understand that you are the eldest of your siblings?"

"Leave my sibs out of this," Xenrai said, his tone a warning.

Shy's eyebrow went up, under a sheen of his smartly cut hair. "If they arrive here, they are under their own free will. As are you. I was merely asking. I understand as well that your sister has gone to this Planet Twenty place. Is that correct?"

"It is, and ..." Xenrai sighed and made himself say, "I don't like her there. I wouldn't want her here either."

"Either way, she will be entertaining the same experiments that I have in store. Only she must carry the burden of her choices herself. If she ever has need for an artificial-"

"I said leave her out of it," Xenrai snapped. "Let me make this perfectly clear, Shy. I don't like it here. I know my father stays as far away from here as he can, and Kalkin doesn't want to be here if he can help it. And I know Grandmother really doesn't like you. I'm not going to change anyone's mind, and you're not changing mine either. So let's just get this over with, and then let me go home."

Shy stood, rather stunned. "My my," he said quietly, turning to hide the flush of amazement (and anger? fear?) on his white cheeks. "You are rather a lot like your grandmother Baeris aren't you. Come along then. We shan't keep you long. Disruptor? Are you coming?"

Without pause, the fur-clad superheroine said, "not right now, but I'm sure I will be - I vibrate, you know."

***

Cryten stood at the edge of the plains, and watched the sun set. It had been a warm day, but most of the Kin slept through it. He wasn't used to anything here - the daylight was harsh on his eyes compared to the constant soft white of the Den. The heat and the chill of night and the stinging winds were unknown to him for the same reason - he was born and bred in the Healing Den, and had never truly left it.

The stars were so bright. He wanted to relish every moment, good and bad, that he had here. The sunset was brilliantly orange - there was talk of a volcano somewhere on the southern hemisphere that blew ash into the air. And while Cryten had studied such things at the Den, learning all about geology and such - he'd never seen a sunset like this, and he feared he never would again.

The endless glimmer of the Zekiran's colony ship on the eastern horizon comforted him in a way that nothing else could. Especially - that other unmoving dot that hovered far to the south-west. The Human space ship. The Zekirans had not yet managed to make full contact with the ship, but he knew they were trying.

Another thing they were trying to do was to fit in with the Kin. Some of them did it better than others, really. There was Plavia, who looked so much like Kin that they didn't even bat an eye at her height (Zekirans ran tall - she was no exception). And there was Kami... She wasn't a Zekiran, however - she had big falcon wings and was known as a Katri. She was some kind of shifter, immortal like many of those Zekirans.

Cryten absently wondered - if Baeris and Kalkin were as immortal as they seemed, if Cynonix and Tess hadn't seemed to age in years - what did that make he and Tyss? If they remained planet side, would they age? Or was their heritage enough?

He blinked and cleared his vision. All this thinking in a place designed for action? That wasn't acceptable! He saw a batch of the kin guys heading out to hunt.

He gave a whistle, and it looked like Dijo nodded at him to come along. Cryten slipped down to the grassy savannah from the rocks. Twilight was not generally the time most Cheetahs chose to hunt, their vision was best in broad daylight. However, there was a kind of antelope that ran through the place at this time of evening, and they intended to get a couple of them for feasting.

Cryten listened with his ears as well as his mind. Several of the Kin there told him that his mind was exceptionally open to things, but to watch for mental attacks. He'd reminded the Kin that all the Sangers everywhere - himself included - had some kind of weakness to mental powers.

It looked like Iryudyo had perked up at that, but Omaciyu had always managed to keep the tall violent Kin away from both Tyssix and himself. Cryten didn't know quite why - but obviously if Oma did something it was on purpose.

The group of Kin consisted of Dijo, Utori, Ihnala, Mihve and Cryten. Mihve slipped into her feline shape, and Ihnala seemed to watch her with interest. Cryten smiled a bit, and kept up with the group silently. In the short time they had been on Planet Twenty and at the Plateau, Cryten's physical prowess had grown strongly. He would never quite be the deadly hunter that Iruydyo or Hala could be, but he definitely stood his own ground and could catch enough to prove his worth.

Dijo held his hand up, and the others stopped in their tracks. Since he was a soundshaper, he was inherantly aware of the surroundings - everything whispered on the air came to him. He obviously heard something. Dijo gave a tiny flicker of his tail, and Cryten could feel him using his powers.

Somehow, Dijo was making the air go silent around them as they moved through the high, brown grasses. As the light from the sunset faded, the group got more and more keen on their prey. Cryten saw it in the distance.

The animals were large, but their group was hungry and numerous themselves. Antelope barely described the animals - they had tall horns on their long faces, and slender legs tipped with sharp hooves. But they were solid bodied, with long, thick necks. Dangerous prey - and beautiful. Their fur was a deep shade of slate blue, almost charcoal colored. It would be used for all manner of nice clothing later on, if not by the Kin, then used by the Zekirans expertly.

But first they had to take one or more down. Preferably without really damaging the hide too much, if that was their aim. Cryten pulled his knife from his belt. He had earned a nice sharp silver blade and meant to keep it his. Dijo paused again, and the group split up at his slight mental command.

Cryten couldn't help but notice that Ihnala followed Mihve's four-pawed shape around to the north. Cryten and Utori were sent south, and Dijo continued down the middle. He was slightly closer to Cryten and Utori, so he tried to keep up his cone of silence as long as he could. It was apparently a new use for his powers, so he was still apt to exhaust himself or have it cut out on him. Practice made perfect, and Dijo was diligent at his work. They trusted Ihnala and Mihve to be silent hunters.

Cryten felt Utori's mind 'knock' on his. Nodding, he indicated that he was listening.

Try to keep low, since I have the spear I'll run high. But watch for their hooves!

Trying to keep his mind open and clear, Cryten asserted, You don't have to tell me twice!

They heard a slight rustle in the grasses, but it was another of the antelope. There were half a dozen of them the next time Cryten looked around. He didn't see Utori, nor Dijo. But he could make out the dark shape of Mihve as well as the pale sandy yellow of Ihnala, beyond the herd's narrow rut.

He felt Dijo's mind say, Do not try for the one in the lead - his horns are too big for us.

Second and third? Asked Ihnala quickly.

Third and last, Utori commented.

If he could have, Cryten would have confirmed Utori's choices. It looked as though those were the best to try for anyway - one had a very slight limp, and the other was distracted by the female in front of him. Cryten was proud of the way he'd learned to judge such things.

Third and last, yes, Dijo said, NOW!

Utori's spear went out so fast that Cryten could hardly see where it'd come from. Ihnala and Mihve both lept at the last one in line - Ihnala's power of hypnosis and mind stunning bringing it to a full stop even before they left their cover. Dijo had spun around and scattered the rest of the herd of Stormhoof antelope, so they wouldn't try to defend their other doomed members. What felt like a thunderclap echoed through the area - more of Dijo's powers with air. The seven other antelope bolted, and left the third and last ones vulnerable.

The one with the limp was grazed by Utori's first blow, and while he was regaining control over his spear, Cryten moved in under the beast. Its hooves were quick, but that limp gave Cryten an idea. He slipped himself near the damaged limb, and plunged his knife deeply into the joint just under its body. The antelope shrieked, tossing its head back and forth, but Utori took that moment to drive his spear into it's neck - cutting off its air, killing it shortly. It kicked a bit, and Cryten stayed clear of that.

Mihve and Ihnala escaped getting gored by the other male's horns - it was just older than a yearling, with small but sharp foot-long sabers. Mihve held on with her teeth, snarling and growling, kicking hard with her hind paws at the leg below her. Finally it gave out, and Ihnala swept his sword down narrowly grazing Mihve's hair and cutting the animal's head clear off. Surprised, Mihve shifted back to half-cat instantly and took her teeth off the animal's neck.

"Jackass! You could have killed me!" She shouted, but there was a look on her catlike face that said volumes to Cryten. She loved this as much as anyone else. Cryten worried less about her reaction to the violence of Ihnala's attentions, than how to describe the way that she was related to himself. Ivo-was-not-Kalkin, yet, perhaps his father was? Or no - his great grandfather or something... Hmn... And he was still alive, that one. So, whatever.

Cryten picked himself up and dusted off Utori's shoulders. "Good job," he said. Dijo scampered back to the group and tittered with glee.

"Such good kills! This will be a pleasure to take home! Eew," Dijo turned his eyes to the mess that Ihnala had made of the creature's neck and head. "You can carry that part, and you'll have to stay clear of it's bloody trail..."

"Shouldn't we clean the kills here?" Cryten asked. That got a couple odd looks from the rest. "Well, we are the predators in this area, but there are others too. I'm sure they'd like some guts or bloody entrails, right?"

"Eww," Mihve said, "you're so right - I don't eat that crap. Dijo? You can't just squeeze the guts out of them, can you?"

The elegantly not-quite-manly Dijo gave her such a look of disgust. Ihnala turned and started opening the guts of their kill, so Cryten began to do likewise with the other. Shortly they had removed the less desirable innards - keeping the heart and liver, kidneys and such, but losing the bile and intestines. No one was interested in the lungs, but they would keep the bladders for future use - airtight containers like that could hardly be wasted, even if they were kind of gross to think about.

Cryten laughed at that thought. He'd grown up in a healer's paradise. With all the biology books, anatomy lessons and real life practice that he could stand. There weren't many things that could gross him out.

The one time they'd 'accidentally' handed him a gall bladder and told him it was a delicacy, was the last time he believed that line of crap. He almost refused to eat anything that he himself hadn't seen killed and cooked. He was used to having meat cooked - but now out here it was hardly necessary. And, he noticed how active he could be if he lived on raw meat and the occasional root or grass.

This was the life. He would go back to the Healing Den - but he would go back a warrior, hunter, adult.

How his sister fared, this night, was a bit differently...

***

Tyssix was still in awe of the place, the people, and their dragons. Temih hadn't exaggerated when she told the group of her home land's expanse. To the north and east there were the Lion Pride lands, the edges were blurry and would become more firm with the dragons presence. What lion in their right mind would try invading a cheetah's hunting ground when there were a dozen or more fierce - and huge - dragons to defend it?

From the top of the plateau, Tyssix could see just everything. Her heart fluttered, she'd never climbed so high. She had flown on a dragon's back many times of course, but this was so completely different! The plateau was gigantic!

"How do you patrol it all?" She asked, and Omaciyu shrugged.

"We do it better with the dragons, now," he replied. "It was difficult. This range we chose was very large for our group."

"You'll grow into it," she said. "I know it. I promise." Tyssix grinned widely, such a human gesture. She realized that the baring of teeth was not Kin-friendly really, but still hadn't really caught on to what their signals should be.

To Omaciyu though, it didn't matter. She could be shaved and have her tail clipped for all he cared - she was paying attention to him and only him among the group. The Tribe had already increased by two, his precious Temih's pair of girls. But now? With the others?

The centaur-shaped ones bothered this eldest of the Powered Kin cheetah tribe. They ran on four legs, yet still had arms and an upright body... queerly there were those who wanted such things in their lives. He would have to live with it. The Zekirans would help them defend their planet, and he had to admit that having a ship on their side was far more important than worrying about whether the next generation of cheetah Kin had four legs or two.

"What are you thinking about?" Tyssix asked. Typical woman.

"I... Find myself wondering about the next generation, Tyssix," Omaciyu said, his voice full with something Tyss could not identify. "If we are to survive, we must dilute ourselves."

"I'd like to think it makes your tribe stronger," Tyssix said, disappointed. She was painfully aware of her half-human heritage, but Omaciyu had never brought it up before.

"It will, in the long run..." Oma sighed. "But it is also such a change. We are already changed from our parents and grandKin. We with these powers of ours." He held his hand out, and an invisible furrow of force sped from his fingers across the ground. Where his telekinetic blast went, it left a trail of moving reeds and a big dust plume. "So now we further distinguish ourselves from our old Kin by being all the more new."

Tyssix tilted her head, "I guess. I see so many different people at the Healing Den, I don't even think about it any more. I mean, people there tell me that if I were at some other place, folks would stare at me funny."

"As they did for our kind, when we paired off with our dragons," Omaciyu indicated, "most of us were alone in our ... fur. Some tell stories of how strangely varied the hatchings were, but the rest, we were at places alone. Humans everywhere."

"You don't like them," Tyssix stated, "I understand that. It would be hard for me to hate my mother just for being human." She paused, "I hated her for other reasons, you know. Teenage girl reasons."

To her great surprise, Oma gave off a round laugh.

"I know that has its place in every society, Kin or human." He said. "I have to wonder, what will my offspring think of me."

The way he said it made Tyssix furrow her eyebrows. He sounded so... desperate? Disappointed? Resigned?

"Don't you think they will respect you and love you?" Tyssix said - so far from the admission of her own teenage angst regarding her mother. Omaciyu turned and looked at the young kin-like girl beside him. Her heart fluttered and she looked away.

"I believe they will grow to do those things, yes, but ..." He sighed again, "in the mean time, of course, keeping a Tribe together is just as important as raising a child. Perhaps more so. And I hope that they could forgive me for having to take the time away from them to do it."

At that, Tyssix paused. "That's... I suppose that's true. But in the end, they will have to keep the tribe together too - everyone does."

Omaciyu knelt on the rock they were standing at, and pushed his claws into the soft sandy stone. "Do you know what I miss?" He asked. He didn't really wait for Tyssix to respond, when he said, "I missed watching Temih's children grow up."

With a gasp Tyssix realized something - then spoke aloud, "I did see it. It was wonderful. Fun - dangerous. You don't seem jealous of Ivo."

"I am jealous of Ivo, none the less," Omaciyu stated, darkly. "But there is obviously nothing I can do about that now. His offspring have helped save our tribe, and I must be grateful for that."

"But you don't have to like him, or that fact, right?" Tyssix replied. "I know. And you resent the Zekirans for bringing in their own blood. It's hard - but you can't have expected Temih to choose one of you over all the others."

"Not for her whole life, no," Omaciyu said. "We do not bind one another to single mates, like humans attempt to."

"Hah!" Tyssix laughed suddenly, and startled Oma. "You don't know the right humans, then. My mother and father stay together because they love each other so much... But grandmother? I have three aunts and two uncles - and one of those uncles is Kalkin's son. They both drift around like crazy. Most dragon rider humans do that. It's a survival thing, just like here."

"Is it?" Said Oma, standing again. His poise and straight back were almost towering to Tyssix - the way he carried himself with care in every step impressed her.

"I think so," she said, looking away from him.

"Do you think that we Kin can love the same way that humans do?" Omaciyu asked. That surprised her even more than his laughter a moment before.

"I... I have to think you do," Tyssix said.

"Then why did you come here? Did you come looking for love? To have someone, as your mother found your father?"

"I don't know," Tyssix said. "I came here because I thought I could help your Tribe. I don't think I made a mistake."

"You do not want to fall in love with one of us, do you?" Oma said. "You do not fit in here quite as well as you would like to."

That was true. Tyssix had seen how well her brother hunted, how many friends he'd made and how he'd proven himself time after time. Maybe she was rash in coming here. And since she had no particular psionic powers, she felt even more out of place.

"Do not feel like that," Omaciyu said, hesitating but then drawing his arms around Tyssix's shoulders. "I ... am a rather powerful empath, remember? Your goal here, to help us? I think it is a worthy one. I hope that you stay long enough to see the fruits of that effort."

It wasn't that Oma had exerted any of his emotion control over her - Tyssix leaned back into his slender body, and closed her eyes. "I will. I don't think I could go back and admit defeat to my mother anyway."

That elicited another laugh from the elegant leader of Twelve and One. "I would never want you to go through that indignity!"

"You don't know my mom!" Tyssix said. "But she had to let me go here. So I won't disappoint anyone." She bit her lip. "Omaciyu, I know you love Temih - but she's not here with you. I am."

"I can see that," he breathed.

"She might never be here for you," Tyssix stated, carefully. How could she guard against his empathy? She chose not to. Instead, she let herself fill with the wonder and the pleasure of being near him at all. He hugged her shoulders tighter.

"I know that," Omaciyu said, quietly. "Let us leave her out of this conversation, then. Shall we?"

"I believe that's a good idea," Tyssix said.

In the late of the afternoon, Omaciyu claimed his tribal right - asserted his genetic means... Believed that - with the heat of passion and Tyssix's mind assuring him that it was true - he could fall in love with someone else.

***

(Xenrai)

"I just don't get why you like that guy," Xenrai said, walking quickly down a school hallway with Disruptor next to him looking all smug.

"Because he's cool, and because he pisses you off. Isn't that obvious?" She said, grinning. "Oh - there's Hita! I wonder if he has any news for you?" The fur-wearing (but not fur bearing) superhero in training sped off toward the Kin, smiling and giggly. Xenrai went more slowly - he wanted information, but ... maybe he didn't.

The few weeks that had gone by since their trip to Shy's labs had made a big difference in Xenrai's behavior. He left the Healing Den more often, and had come back to Carramba High with Disruptor to see what it was like in a public school.

It was nothing like he could ever have expected. The place was filled with people - more than usually attended a large hatching at the Den. And they were all so different! Superheroes and furry kin, and humans, aliens, mathematic constructs and artificial beings... And that was just the teaching staff!

But being overwhelmed by such a thing was not really a possibility. Xenrai was old enough to wander the halls and get a 'temporary staff' pass from Crazy Doc Sanger. Who was almost - but not quite - the same as Kalkin. Xenrai had a strong suspition that it was really Kalkin, only from some time in the future, where he could spend a lot more of his free time on this world.

Xenrai followed Disruptor, off to face the young student Kin, Hita. The blond-haired cheetah lad looked rather happy with himself. "How have you been doing, Hita?" Xenrai asked, "you look pleased."

"I am," Hita said. "I just transferred here and Baeris said that I didn't need any more help than the Anatomy course I'm supposed to take. But when I got here, they wanted me to stay and join the track team too - so now I'm going to be a runner!" He bounced on his feet, tail ruddering himself for balance, "it's great!"

"You'll be going back to Planet Twenty when?" Xenrai asked, and Hita's muzzled face grew a more serious grin.

"I'll be going back when I graduate. I decided it would be okay. I've been back there twice, to check up, and make sure that everyone thought it was okay. They told me that if I get a good education I can help teach when I get back, and I really like that."

"So... is my sister all right?" Xenrai asked after a moment of hesitation.

"Oh - she's great," Hita assured him. Disruptor looked smug about something, and swayed back and forth waiting for them to finish their conversation - she obviously wanted to get to class, but she had to take Xenrai to the office first for his pass. "In fact I think I heard that her and Omaciyu are a 'thing'. Can you imagine that?"

Xenrai blinked, his eyes going wide again. "What?"

"Yeah, Oma falling for a - well, no offense, but a half-human girl? Heh. But since Temih didn't come back all enthralled with him, I guess that's okay. I mean, I guess you know that she was with that guy, Ivo."

"Yeah... I know. He spent a lot of time at the Den. Freak..." Xenrai looked away, half confused. His sister was with Omaciyu? Wasn't he a little.... old for her?

"I know what you're thinking," Hita said, "but -" just then, the middle bell rang, and a scurry of students began. Carramba High was a busy place, and Hita had a class to attend. "Look, sorry - I have to run. But it's been neat seeing you again. Zalmaji and I will visit again. I wanted to show Baeris something, when I'm ready."

"O - okay," Xenrai said. Disruptor took his arm and dragged him away to the offices and admin center.

"Are you okay?" She asked, "I mean, you look kinda pale."

"That was a joke, right?" Xenrai said, obviously his fur would cover any changes in skin color he had.

"Well, your little nose leather is kinda pinkish right now. I'd feel it to see if it's wet or dry but I can never remember if it's dogs or cats you want to do that to."

Xenrai blinked and tried to focus on the path to the office. His sister was with the eldest of their tribe? What next? He hadn't heard anything about his brother - but he knew that if something had happened they would have brought him back to the Den properly. So he must be okay... Right?

When they got to the Admin center, they were directed to an office which lay at the end of a green strip on the floor. It led around a strange toroidal half-space hall, and to the door of a pretty young black woman with two-toned hair and a computer jack plug coming from her temples.

"Hey - you made it. Finally..." She said. "Disruptor, here's a pass, go on to class okay?"

"Gotcha grrl," Disruptor said, and ruffled Xenrai's hair. "Stay cool."

She vanished out of the office and Xenrai found a chair. The girl behind the big desk looked him over, and then gave off a rather naughty grin. "Oooh, another Sanger. What fun. And a furry one at that..."

"Look, why does everyone expect all of us to behave the same way?"

"Why, did you somehow get a recessive prudish gene? Oh my god, you did!" She laughed loudly and then extended her hand - manicured nails were done in the same two-tone orange and black as her hair. "I'm Cybill Qeats, I run the admissions and on site approvals. And yeah, I do expect you all to act the same. From experience." She winked, and then turned to her desktop computer. Her head jack led to it, and the other side had a kind of laptop that connected to the other jack.

"So do you have any idea why you'd like to stay here - or are we just going to find somewhere that needs a helping hand and stick you with whatever you're given?" She said.

"I was ... well, I have some experience in the medical field," he said.

"That would figure," Cybill said. "Well, right now, the nurses office is doing okay. But we do have a track and field meet coming up this weekend. I think you should be on hand for the medic team. Your ... Um, which one is it?"

"My what?" He said, confused.

"Oh - here it is. Your grandfather is going to be there too, but I think he's going to be coaching. So let's leave him to that, and put you on the temporary medical team. You could go visit the team quarters and get familiar with the students. They're a lot of fun. I think - isn't there a Kin there?"

She was halfway concentrating on her screen, obviously getting information from it directly into her brain. But she was also polite enough to just ask when someone might know something - she wasn't a cold computer.

"Yes, I think his name is Hita. Will there be dragons at this track meet?" Xenrai said, half smiling.

"Of course there will be. I think," Cybill pressed a key or two, "they're going to be carrying our camera crew. Like a blimp, only with leather wings..."

That actually elicited a laugh from Xenrai, and Cybill looked pleased with herself.

"You don't have a dragon, yourself, do you?" She asked.

"No, I don't." Xenrai started to fidget. "It's getting kind of late for me to bond one, too."

"You're hardly too old to bond." She said, wisely aware of many other people who had bonded before him, and at much later in their lives.

"Well, it's one excuse."

"Don't you like dragons?" Cybill asked. "I love them, but it always seems like my cyberdeck gets in their way. They can't communicate with me properly, until I'm unplugged, and I hate being unplugged. So..."

"I see why that would be a problem for them. But... I don't know," Xenrai sighed. "I've always lived around them, they're always there. I never really thought about why I hadn't bonded before now."

"Well, maybe later you will. It's not important right now." Cybill assured him. "For now, here's a site map, and a pass - put this on your collar." She pinned it on for him, clipping the little printed out and quickly embossed pass (complete with his picture and information) onto the collar of his tank top. (fyi: he was wearing more than in the picture above.)

"Thanks..." Xenrai said.

"We'll see each other a lot, I think. Are you set up with housing yet?"

"Um... no?"

"Well, I'm sure I can have something made available shortly. Don't worry." Cybill said, and shooed him out of her office. He went down the hallway again, walking quite some distance before he realized that he'd seen the same three doorways twice now. Only this time, they were upside down.

"What a bizarre place..." He muttered to himself. "I mean, people think that the Den is a strange place hanging out outside space and time, but this..."

"It is rather odd, isn't it?" Said a woman, from the other side of the walkway. She was walking toward him, but she was also tilted in a way that said he couldn't touch her if he reached out - she was on the other side of the torus.

Finally, Xenrai got outside and strode around the campus to familiarize himself. The campus map that Cybill had given him was illuminated with what looked like animated diagrams. There was a dot - he realized it was himself - and it was about halfway to where he needed to be. He went east, to the hillside where the campus athletics department had bleachers, and saw the track down in a flat area.

Xenrai's heart beat quickened, for some reason. Then he realized it was because there were people down there running. Away. Not from him, of course, but they were running back and forth like... "prey," he whispered.

They were making his instincts move in ways he'd never thought possible. Now, he did remember a time when he would chase after Striker or one of the other flitters who resided at the Den, but that was as a very young child, and he knew that human children did the same.

But this was something entirely different. He wanted to chase after the people down there. They looked much smaller from on the side of the hill.

Suddenly, Xenrai smiled. He would really enjoy his stay here at Carramba High. If he got the chance to play in the dirt and race around after people - even better.

***

(Cryten)

Overlooking the valley, Cryten and a couple others surveyed the damage that the storm had brought. Trees thought too large to fall had been toppled, but there were saplings to take their place. Such was the way of things. Scattered herd beasts and small predators native to the planet were starting to come back to their senses and try rooting around for their normal lives.

A swath had been carved through the valley, by a torrential downpour - and the subsequent flood that came from the hills nearby didn't help at all. Most of the normally dry grounds were sopping if not covered with a layer of muddy debris-filled water.

"There were no deaths?" Asked Wildstorm. The tall Zekiran woman had the strangest combination of features that Cryten had seen - on someone who didn't have too many limbs or shapeshifted like other Zekirans could. She was a very tall, slender girl with pale hazel-colored skin with faintly brown striped markings. It was slightly furry, Cryten knew that because she'd rubbed up against him when they met. Her hair was a stringy mess of color, sunset reds, browns, tan and white mixed in with yellow and the odd strand of blue. Her eyes were a vivid blue, like Cryten's own family's tended to be. She had normal humanoid features, but her limbs were long and almost gangly, she had a sunset-fur-tufted tail, and her feet and hands bore slight claws. Her face was long, handsome, like her father's, but she had long pointed ears where his were more small and round.

She was a weathershaper like her father Tresis, but she also had some kind of control over natural things like plants and earth. Thus, she'd offered to help out recovering from this major flood on the Plateau. There were still waterfalls coming down where Kin would usually step off the high rocks - a huge pool of water had collected on top of the plateau, almost a lake. In fact the plateau was big enough to support such a thing, but the water was busy seeping down through the many cracks and nooks into the very center of the huge stone wall anyway. It would dry too, given the heat of the summer and autumn sun.

But for now, it was a big puddle that needed to be controlled. Tresis didn't seem like he wanted to play, so his daughter volunteered. Wildstorm floated around, and then landed near Cryten again.

"It'll go away by itself, given time," she said.

"Of course," he replied. "But in the mean time, we've got soaking living spaces now. And these animals down there aren't used to this kind of deluge. I wonder why it's suddenly like this. I don't think anyone's ever said there are typhoons like this before."

Wildstorm gave what looked to Cryten a guilty start. This was lost on the Kin, and they were occupied with other things anyway - looking for prey and trying to figure a way not to get very wet and dirty in the process of hunting.

But Cryten was intrigued, and he realized there was something more going on. "What is it, Wildstorm?"

She averted her eyes, and then muttered, "it was my dad. He's an asshole sometimes. And sometimes he forgets that we're not on Zekira any more, and he can't do the things he'd been used to doing there. Just because we land in a place that has peaks and valleys doesn't mean he gets to re-create his tower and pull the same crap he did on the natives."

"... And that would be?" Cryten asked, moving closer so that the others didn't need to hear.

"He's a weather shaper, Cryten, and he loves making storms. But that water has to fall somewhere. And I think he's already started messing with the weather patterns of this planet - if we don't stop him, If I can't convince him not to, he'll make a desert out of the pride lands, and he'll flood this place until the plateau is all that's left above water out here."

Cryten gazed first at Wildstorm, and then back down towards the south-west. There was the gigantic inland lake, the ring of mountains keeping it apart from the ocean beyond. The Plateau was the more northerly feature, but he could see that the lake was risen many feet higher than it had been - that would kill Kin, many of them, because they were living so close to the shore.

"You're right, he has to be stopped." Cryten said flatly. "Let's go."

"Go? You?" Wildstorm said, half snorting. "I don't know, Cryten, you're not exactly what he respects in the world."

"Then what does he respect?"

"Very little," Wildstorm said. But she lifted him into the air with her sizable (and very well practiced) powers, and they floated to the shuttle. The hovercraft that the small group of Zekirans had come in on was bobbing now on the shore opposite the inland lake. Cryten wasn't afraid to fly with Wildstorm - but the trip would be too long for her to fly over the two thousand mile wide sea back to the Zekiran colony. Their hovercraft would do it in a matter of a few hours.

"Aren't you going to leave this for them?" Cryten asked, "or take the others back with us?"

"Nope, they're staying until the mud's dry. That's what they do best." She said regarding the other few water shapers of the Zekirans. They didn't exactly know that their transportation had been liberated back to their colony, but apparently Wildstorm didn't care.

In the year and a half since Cryten had arrived, many things had happened. His sister had born a seriously cute baby girl named Xyma to Omaciyu and the Tribe became "twelve and four". Another two children were on the way - both would be cousins to each other, children of Temih's daughters. And it looked as though Temih had cornered Utori, or been impressed by his flight and hunting skills. The tribe would be strong and new.

But if their lands were destroyed on a regular basis by Tresis and his weathershaping antics... This had to change. But Cryten had never met this man, Wildstorm's father. He was well known among Zekirans to be the least sane, and the most dangerous. Why in the world did a fifteen year old half-kin like Cryten think that he could tame this man's insanity?

He didn't, really. He only knew that this land had become his home. And a threat to his home was not going to be met lying down.

***

Tresis was a terrifying man, Cryten realized that right away. Since the Colonization had started he was moody, brash, annoying, and openly violent at times. He particularly seemed to enjoy hunting - as long as he didn't have to get himself dirty he would strike fear into his prey first with a thunderclap and bolt of lightning (which often started a fire), or he would simply change the pressure around a poor creature's head until it exploded.

Cryten stood next to Tresis' daughter, and tried not to look nervous.

"Why ought I to care about this matter?" Tresis asked, casually and caustic. "It's around the world from me."

"It is right next to you, and it is affecting our allies ," Wildstorm said. She could match his anger, but perhaps not his power.

"They are able to survive in the wild, why shouldn't this be merely a ... test for them?" Tresis said. He was taller than his daughter, but not as muscular. His hair was fades of tan, white and bronze, and he wore a long flowing white and grey silken robe. He looked entirely too human, apart from his perfectly white skin and his very tall stature - Cryten realized that he was being affected by the Kin's views a little strongly.

"Sir, with all due respect for your abilities and power," Cryten put in, carefully, "you and your people are not the dominant people on this planet. The Kin have asked your people to colonize knowing that you can defend the planet. They are not prepared to accept you trying to destroy it too. They have humans to do that for them."

The tiny bit of humor in Cryten's statement made a faint smirk appear on Tresis' thin lips.

"A ... good point, boy. But perhaps you do not understand. We can be gods, if we so wish."

"Only if you subdue the natives, which includes me, into thinking that. We're a bit beyond gods and their whim." Cryten said.

Tresis narrowed his green-grey eyes. "Do you think that we could not subdue you? Mighty half-human boy? You have no powers. And I," Tresis stood and looked even more menacing than he had while seated arrogantly in his 'throne', "have nothing but power. And I practiced upon many of the local Neresian population - and many millions of other such powerless people of many other worlds, in the meantime. You cannot defend against me, and my will."

"Why should I have to?" Cryten shot. "I'm telling you that if you continue endangering the normal weather patterns here, you and your people will have to find another place to colonize. Power or no. And remember," he said, snarling a bit, "I might not be a powered Kin, but the entire planet is composed of them. Every one else has powers - just like yours."

"Only weaker," Tresis smirked - knowing this to be true.

"Only in far greater quantities, father," Wildstorm said. Her father spun, hair and robe dancing on the slight breeze.

"You? You would say this?"

"I agree with him," she said simply. "You're not going to endanger our new planet's colony just so you can get your own godhood back. You were never a god, father, and I was never a goddess. We are merely Zekirans with power over physical things. We are not the law here, were are asked to be the enforcers because we can do things at a greater range, or at a stronger ability than the Kin. But this is their world first, and I ask you to remember that. Before Viridia and the others come looking for you for this same conversation."

"Viridia." Tresis spat. "What does she know? And besides... If they do not remember, what can they do?"

Tresis turned on Cryten, and his eyes narrowed again. Cryten felt something creeping in around his eyes, his mind. He went cold...

There were bits of blackness in his mind, spots he could swear had been bright before. This would not happen to him. Not to him! He steeled himself, forced brightness back onto the parts that were dim. Ah - a memory here, an experience there. Tresis was attempting to black out his mind, remove his memories?

"You are not going to do that to me," Cryten said, and before Tresis could react, he'd stepped up to the tall man and struck him - hard - across the face.

Stunned that the boy would attempt something so ... physical, Tresis did not move for a moment. That moment, Cryten chose to close in. The half-cheetah "powerless" boy held Tresis' robe and pulled the ancient immortal close to his muzzle.

"If you try that again, to me or to anyone else - Kin or Zekiran or human - I will make you hurt so badly that you will not remember how to do your tricks. Do you understand?"

Balking, but not yet trying to fight back, Tresis said, "you cannot resist me! You have no powers!"

"I - have - enough," Cryten growled, and from somewhere in his will, he pulled a blackness so deep that he wondered how he could ever live in light. He aimed it carefully at Tresis - whose eyes went round and wide suddenly.

"Don't!" Wildstorm yelled, and pulled on Cryten's arm.

"Why not?" Cryten said. "I can, and I will. If you make me do it. So don't make me."

"What.... is that?" Tresis asked, pulling away and straightening his robe out. He stood up, and tried to collect his wits. "What was that, boy? Do you even know?"

"I know this: if you push me, I will use it on you and I will obliterate you. Permanently. Understand?" Cryten said, still puffed up and growling.

Something that Cryten could not have known, something deep in Tresis' past, was what the man feared. Here was a whelp - a half-human and not-quite-kin? With a power that only one Zekiran had mustered in their entire immortal travels?

"Of course..." Tresis whispered, as he realized who held that power. "The multiverse has been kind to you, I know the reason you do this." He paused, as Cryten tried to understand. "Your powers are hidden, but we have brought our dead with us. And the dead have uses for us."

"That was mysterious," Wildstorm said.

"Do you not remember who it was that killed the Outsiders when they asked?" Tresis said, darkly.

Wildstorm's eyes also went wide, but then she turned with a snarl on her father. "Will you agree to stop this?"

"I will," he said. "I will have to find something else to do."

"You could find another planet to play on," Cryten said, angrily, "you've got a dragon who can teleport. Why not do that instead."

Tresis almost got a smile on his face, but realized that would be tempting fate. The idea pleased him. He would have to find somewhere else to torment. But he could still live here among the people.

"Come on," Wildstorm said, "it's late. We'll get going back there in the morning, and I'll help with the clean up."

They left Tresis' large dome-topped quarters, and said nothing.

The hours drifted by, and Cryten could not sleep. Wildstorm lay beside him, a teenager's dream come true - there was something absolutely entrancing about her smell. But still, Cryten didn't understand why Tresis had suddenly changed his mind, or any of the other things he'd said. Why did the Zekiran dead have anything to do with him?

He spent another hour in thought. It would be dawn soon - and he would be on his way back to the Plateau, where hopefully he could get some real sleep.

But suddenly he understood. They were all connected - the Sangers of his universe, the Sengihr of Zekira... They were the same people. And the Outsiders, alone among them was Vanya, brought back to life with powers that he never had while he lived before his immortality. The powers of the dead.

And Cryten, whether he wanted to be or not, was a Sanger. Vanya had been cursed or blessed with abilities through the long-dead and highly-powerful people who came before him. They had embued him with the ability to slay even an immortal soul. And he had done so? To whom? And why would someone ask for something like that if they were immortal?

Too many questions - but he did know at least that much now. Cryten had the power over these immortals - and he would use them if he needed to. That would mean he would be needed longer-term on Planet 20.

That would mean he would be able to get better 'aquainted' with Wildstorm, too...

***

(Tyssix)

Omaciyu paced the same way for every birth. He had that charm built in, though, that made him seem so fatherly to everyone - sometimes stern, sometimes adoring... But usually he made the decisions and he was the one who decided that the tribe was going well.

Of course, when Temih went into labor she took all his attention. Tyssix tried to stop him from being so nervous, but that was hardly going to work.

"You know, someone might think you still love her," Tyssix purred into Oma's ear, and he first scowled, but then laughed.

"I do, Tys, and you know that."

"And I know why too - but aren't you jealous?" Tyssix said, and looked at the father of Temih's third cub, Utori. The pair were young - the same age, though - and Omaciyu's hands should have been full with Xyma, but the infant was being tended by the doting Dijo. For all his parading about, Dijo certainly made a good foster mother...

"Will it be a girl, or a boy," Tyssix asked, "that's what you're worried about."

"Well do not worry too much more," Temih said, from the edge of the room. She held in her long spotted arms a new bundle - still faintly wet and covered with the grey-tan fluff of all Kin cheetahs. "He's a boy."

There was a faint sense of disappointment on Oma's muzzle, but Temih was quick to say, "don't think that all girls would be good, Oma - think of what would happen in another ten years, when there are no males of their age?"

"... good point," He said.

Tyssix beamed, though. "He's the first truly full blooded Kin in the tribe," she said. Tys glanced at Tovih and her sister Mihve - both with their own young children, both boys. Tyssix had so far given birth to the only female child.

Yet by now, the Zekirans who were either shapeshifters or cheetah-kin appearing, had been more integrated into the Tribe for the time being. Their culture was different, but the few Zekirans who had spots and tails (and sometimes way too many limbs to go around, as they were on all fours with upright 'taur torsos too) had grown fond of these short-lived cheetah Kin.

A stormy relationship with the violent Iryudyo and the extra-fast Plavia was obviously going somewhere genetically beneficial. The four-footed CoLeran had clearly been wooing Hala in his time near the Plateau. Others were springing up here and there. And Tyssix's brother Cryten was hanging out a lot with that tall skinny Zekiran girl Wildstorm. What was up with that?

Dijo came in with the year-old Xyma, holding her gently and looking for Tyssix. "There you are. She's been wondering where you are, and why I'm not you. I can't understand it..."

Laughing, Tys took her child back, and went to sit with the other mothers. It was a den full of smells and sounds - then a wailing mew noise pierced everyone's ears.

"Now now..." Temih said. "Shhhh, here are your sisters. And you are an uncle already," she giggled. Motherhood suited this Kin, Tyssix noticed.

"What is his name?" Tyssix asked quietly.

"Tomi," Temih said. "He's got a strength in him, and can you feel his mind?"

"Already!" Omaciyu said. "Congratulations," he added. Temih nudged up against the elder and purred a thank you to him.

Tyssix knew that she'd never feel the child's mind - not like the Kin would. It made her feel a bit sad. Even her own daughter had powers that she herself could never understand. It still made Tyssix feel a bit out of place. Her brother had somehow managed to manifest some kind of weird power - that made her feel even a bit jealous.

But here she was, with the only current female child in the Tribe. She whispered while cuddling the girl, "what will you do when you are older, hmn, Xyma? Will you do great things?"

"Of course she will," said - surprisingly - Temih. "She's your daughter, and she's Oma's legacy. What I give to the tribe is so different from what he wanted me to do."

It wasn't lost on Temih or the others that Omaciyu was in the room when she said that.

"But... I can't stay here, myself," Tyssix said at last. She looked at her beautiful sparkling spotted child. "She'll be here for me instead."

Temih stood, and smiled broadly - a human response on an unhuman face. "Kelssyroth says it's time for you to follow in your ancestors' footsteps."

"What?" Tyssix said, "what does that mean?"

"It means you should talk to Kelssy." The kin said, "I will take care of Xyma while you are gone, and when you come back to us, you will be different. Perhaps you will choose to stay."

Tyssix blinked. This was more than Temih had really spoken to her in months - their involvements with males seemed to be at cross purposes, so they avoided one another. But here...

"I can see why you love her so much," said Tyssix, smiling back. Omaciyu took Xyma from her mother's arms, Tyssix smothering the little kin-girl with kisses and purring before she left.

She then made her way to the dragon flat - recently cleared of all the mud and muck from the typhoon's last passage.

The dragons were waiting. Temih's dappled brown and green female Kelssyroth tossed her head proudly.

I know - you are thinking that you do not know where to go. I think I know where to take you. My rider will not be coming with us, but I know the way. First we will go to your home though. And Cryten should come along with us.

"Won't he be too much for you? With me along?" Tyssix said.

I can handle you both to the Den. Then, you will find your own rides.

Tyssix watched as Kelssyroth rose into the sky and circled, then she located Cryten and dove toward him. Shortly, Tys saw the dappled female rise back up, but she was followed by the Zekiran woman, Wildstorm, too.

They lit onto the dragon flat, and Wildstorm slunk nearer to Tyssix.

"I know you aren't all that fond of me," she said, pushing her hair behind a long ear. "But I'm ... Well, frankly I'm having his child," she thumbed toward Cryten, "so you're gonna have to get used to me being sort of family."

"Everyone is having babies," Tyssix laughed. Suddenly she threw her arms around the startled Wildstorm, "congratulations."

"So that means you aren't coming along with us," Cryten pointed out. "When we get back, it'll only have been a few days." He looked up into the sky, and his calculating mind would remember every detail so they could predict their return properly.

Wildstorm would have pouted, but she'd never actually had a baby before - at least not recently in her millions of years, and not one which was immortal. She had never bothered to try again, she'd been largely too busy keeping her father out of trouble. And that was a handful most of the time.

"You keep Tresis -" Cryten started to say, but Wildstorm interrupted him.

"Out of trouble, yes I will."

She flew off, toward the small Zekiran set of huts that bordered the plains and was a base of operations for their local dealings.

Though Kelssyroth's body was narrow and her size somewhat small, she could easily carry the two half-human cheetahs. It was odd that since Temih had said what she did, Tyssix didn't feel in the slightest that she was doing the wrong thing by leaving her young daughter behind. She'd be back very soon "their time" anyway.

Tys and Cryten stepped up onto Kelssy's shoulder, and the dragoness took to the air again. She swept around the area once, and then vanished into the dark Nexus.

***

(All Three!)

"Why are we here? Where is this place anyway?" Tyssix asked, as they had come out from the Nexus in a brightly sunlit area overlooking some strange buildings. A busy street surrounded the area.

Several ufo-shaped saucers and a pair of F14's passed overhead, and then were followed by a trio of brightly colored, flame-trailing superheroes.

"Ah. This is Carramba High." Cryten said. He had been there one time, before they split up, but he was too young to start his education there. Now, he didn't seem to need it.

"And...." Tyssix said, "we're here because?"

"Because it looks like Xen is here. Ah - down there." Cryten pointed down at the track, where a series of people were lined up and there was a lot of cheering.

"Looks like a race," Tyssix said. "Who won?"

"The guy in the middle. And look, there's Xenrai. And Kalkin." Cryten commented.

"What are you guys doing here?" Asked a woman, who turned out to have a tall mohawk and a fairly brightly colored - one might say spangled - dragon behind her. Kelssyroth seemed somewhat more interested in the male dragon, than talking to the humans.

"We're looking for our brother," Cryten said. "He's down there."

"Oh, Xen is your brother - obviously, xen is your brother why else would you all have spots, duh Dom -" she spoke half under her breath. "He's become very popular with the track team. He's been here for about a month. Have you seen him working?"

"Nope, but I can guess," Tyssix said. "Are they wrapping things up? Because we are supposed to be heading to the Healing Den."

She assumed that since Dominique Talshoy - the woman with the mohawk - had a dragon, she knew what that meant. Fortunately, she thought right.

"Almost done. Look, they're awarding the medals and all. They'll be done in a minute. Ooh, say, you're searched. That's why."

Presumably, Dominique's brown (red and white starry) dragon related that fact. "Congratulations. Myself, I kind of came across Gallimim and Ringeth here on accident. I had to learn the hard way all about dragons and such. But then I found my way here too, with him."

"Gallimim?" Cryten said, "that's...."

"He's an old dragon. I'm an old woman. Can't you tell?" Dominique laughed heartily, she hardly looked a day over thirty - if that. She had an odd scar on her neck, but that was about the only sign that she was mature beyond the pair of half-cheetahs.

When the track and field work was done for the afternoon, the groups of people who did or did not want to look at the dragons split accordingly. Crazy Doc Sanger - Kalkin sort of - came along with those that did, of course, and he brought Xenrai with him.

The look on Xen's face was priceless. "Cryten! Tyss! How are you!?" He bolted to their side, and grappled with them. "Are you enjoying your field trip?"

"Field trip - heh," Tyssix said. "Well, if you count having a - hey that's right, you're an uncle! Her name is Xyma! You'll see her - when you come with us back to Planet Twenty next time."

It didn't take long to explain the whole situation, and to get Dominique's big brown ready to take him along. They were going home, after all.

***

At the Den, things were sedate and kind of dim. Nothing was going on, that afternoon - and how they could immediately tell it was that time of day was really none of anyone's business. It was their birth place, they always knew what time it was.

"You are looking well," Baeris told them - all. She looked over all her grandchildren and smiled broadly. "I've been told that you are a mother. Have you sent any kind of word to Tessrabia? No. You haven't. You will be in Big Trouble."

But there was no threat in her voice. To her grandchildren, suddenly, Baeris was aglow. There was something very different here - and Cryten realized but said nothing.

"Why aren't you teaching at Carramba High too?" Xenrai asked. "I mean, I bet you could even teach a course on dragon anatomy or something."

"I could, but then I would not have time for myself." Baeris said. That was new, she rarely made time for herself unless there was absoultely good reason and nothing else planned for a while.

They eventually made their way into the records and computer room. "Now, Dulath has told me that you are supposed to be bonding. Is that right."

"Why, don't you think we should?" Xenrai said.

"I think you should have quite a long time ago, but perhaps the right dragons had not come along for you yet. Now, perhaps they have. We shall see."

Baeris watched her grandkits go through the same databases that so many others had looked at. The elves, the Kin, countless Dawnlight kids... Mages and other dragons and all. Now, her own blood relatives were finally chasing down their inheritance.

Where to? Where would they go?

"Look - there are openings at a really great looking nest!" Tyssix said. "A bunch of mates and lots of eggs."

"A frenzy?" Baeris asked. But Tyssix shook her head.

"Nope, Cy Dragonstake hosted some already-mated pairs." She showed off a list of the parents - they were known to Baeris in vague and close up ways.

"Are all of you to head there, then?" Baeris asked.

Cryten tilted his head. "I don't know, should we all?"

"I want to," Tyssix said. "It looks great."

"And I do too," Xenrai. "If you're looking somewhere else, I can't stop you. I know that much."

They laughed. Cryten searched a bit more, and found something he was interested in.

"Ryslen," Cryten said simply. "I want to go there. You guys hang at Cy, and we'll meet back here. How is that?"

"You just want to get rid of me," Tyssix said.

"That is because you are a pest," Cryten said, half grinning.

"I haven't gotten over the 'uncle' thing yet," Xenrai muttered.

"So, you're going to split up again," Baeris said. "Well you should pack a little first. Remember this is a civilized place you're going to, Cryten. You need to brush that... stuff... out of your fur."

"I have stuff in my fur?!" Cryten exclaimed, and rushed off to get a comb. Laughing, the other siblings watched each other and finally broke down into a hug and cry session.

"I missed you!" Tyssix said.

"I missed you more," Xenrai stated, but Tyssix tugged on his tail.

"You know I was gone more than two years my time, right?" She said, and Xenrai gave a start.

"No, I hadn't realized that. You could have sent something to us."

"But you were busy, and now we're the same age. Hah." Tyssix giggled.

"Off with you," Baeris said, "I think there is a group coming in, and I want to be ready for them. When you come back I'll have to tranquilize your mother. She'll be having a fit."

"You are so just like her," Tyssix said to Xenrai as they went off to pack their own goods.

"I am not," he said.

"Are too."

.

***

Read about Cryten's, and Tyssix and Xenrai's impressions next!

***