While the fervor of the huge Cross Gender Flight hatching died down, and several of the local riders managed to help clean up things after it was all said and done, Dulath decided that it was time she took a bit of a vacation.

After all, she'd been with Baeris for... well, longer than even her advanced brain could remember. All her life, of course. But Baeris had been able to bond at an older age than most of those at the Den, and Dulath always knew that Baeris was special. Just like herself.

I will return, Dulath announced, and because Baeris was as exhausted as she could be from the hatching and paperwork, the black-haired woman gave off a wide grin and nodded.

"I know you will. Return safe and sound," Baeris said. Dulath spread her wings and flexed them as if she were about to start a long long flight. Little did she know that that flight would be much longer than she realized.

The interior of the Healing Den was large enough that several flight zones had been established, big enough for even large adults to at least swoop around a little. This was more than enough room for a tiny golden-apple-green dragoness like Dulath to get up to proper speed for a good strong teleport.

When she did so, others in the area looked up and wondered where the dragon was going all by herself. The Nexus outside was blank, there were no stars to orient on so she had to have some idea of where she was going.

Didn't she?

Dulath dove outside - really OUT side, there was nothing around her except the darkness and a bit of tingly static. The reality switching that she did during this trip was truly astounding - she'd learned something about interdimensional travel from the Healing Den itself, while the moved around the Nexus.

Eyes were upon her for a small portion of the journey, beautiful static-colored eyes mirroring the incoherent half-light of Outside. Its Mistress, Misota, gazed lovingly at the greeny gold and hummed to her own silver colored draconic bond, "isn't she pretty? She's quite confident she's off to find something. I wonder what it is."

A friend, like I found you.

"I think we found each other, Dantinath," Misota grinned.

While their conversation went on, Dulath was already out of that non-space, and into another. This time, it actually seemed to have some coherent space and time - Outside never had either.

Dulath gazed around, and found herself flying over a large hilly forested region of a world which she'd never visited before. It was a lovely, free feeling place.

Lia, she thought to herself. I know this world's name, and I know there are... oh! My ... grand daughter Truth is here? Or was?

It was true, Dulath could feel the presence of the strange twin-dragon that her golden daughter Aerinhath had clutched. And more - a further connection she could not place.

How could she know that her grand"son" Death had a clutch in whatever bizarre manner with Truth? Honestly, Dulath wasn't sure she ought to be angry about it. She felt compelled to follow the forest below her, and sought out a valley area that was framed by mountains on both sides.

Dulath sensed motion, from several angles. Below her stretched small flying creatures - and suddenly she realized that they were... Dragons? Tiny dragonets? Or... Something more!

Greetings, Dulath announced, with a little bugle. She knew she would still be able to speak in words here, but dragon-to-dragon thought was always quick and clear.

Greetings to you... You are welcome here, spoke one of them, a lovely blue the shade of a true sapphire. I think my mother will want to see you!

And I wish to see her, too. Dulath replied, and followed the sapphire male into the caves that ran along the cliffs. How long had it been since Dulath had been in a cliffside cavern? A den like this was where she started her own life! And to be frank, she wasn't much bigger than the tiny Sapphire, perhaps 4 times larger at the very most.

Several other brilliantly colored and tiny - yet adult - dragons approached Dulath and announced themselves, then one of them showed Dulath to the warm sands where their clutch mate had laid her first nest of eggs.

Oh, they are lovely, Dulath crooned. The Diamond and Emerald parents seemed quite proud, and rather happy to have their great grand parent present.

"But you could stay," Emalya said. The diamond shimmer of her wings made Dulath proud - no one could ever say that her own mixed-color skin was anything less than innovative now. Not when she knew that all her offspring were so special.

I will stay. I would love to see the new hatchlings at this nest-breaking. She chuckled, I like that, nest-breaking. I am even a little bit jealous because you are truly so beautiful!

Not one to be humble, and as Dulath expected the Diamond Emalya proudly raised her head and gloatingly flapped her wings. Eventually, Dulath learned of the history of the Lian site, and tucked the information away carefully in her mind. If Baeris knew that Death had been mucking around like this, she'd be furious!

She would have to learn some time, because she compulsively tracked all of the Healing Den's offspring and clutches, but for the moment, Dulath kept it within her and let it simmer. Perhaps she should have words with that foul Death - how could he have ever come from any of her own offspring's eggs was beyond her...

So Dulath patiently waited. She watched as Emalya mothered her eggs carefully, turning them and keeping all of them safe. Not one escaped her notice.

Pleased with that, Dulath insisted that she bring the waiting Diamond dragon her meals when her mate was too tired to do so. Lia was a place rich in wildlife, after all, and she made certain that no one sentient could follow her if she traveled over any encampments. She didn't see any, which very slightly worried the dragon.

What if they couldn't find bonds? Well, obviously that wasn't a dire situation as there were no bonds to come to their first nest breaking. But... Dulath got the feeling that having people or at least other dragons around for the nest breaking would be best.

Yet she didn't quite want to head back to the Healing Den and tell Baeris about it, just yet. No, she wanted more to remain here and see what would happen. And perhaps later, when there were other nests full of eggs, then she'd pursuade Baeris to send people to the private sands. Now that she knew where they were, she'd keep the location secret.

Truth and Iendae came back from their travels rather exhausted - the ghostly woman rider saw that Dulath was there in the sands area, and was thrilled. "You can always come here," she assured Dulath. "But... where is Baeris? Didn't she come with you?"

No... I was compelled to come alone. I do not know why, only that my descendants are here and they are certainly wonderful. I am glad that you carried on for them, Truth. It would be sad not to have them.

Truth gave her bonded rider a gloating dragon grin. "That's settled it, she's going to be insufferable for days... Well, I hope you're going to stay."

I had planned on it.

Dulath helped in whatever way she could - and perhaps got in the way of the other Lian dragons because she was always attempting to find something to keep her occupied. A busy body like her human bond? Perhaps! But Dulath kept bringing small prey up to the cliffs, and shared her meals with the small dragons without hesitation.

Others came to the nest site, and Dulath was big enough to help clear out caverns for people to remain in temporarily while they waited for the nest to hatch. "If only we had some of those healthy construction dragons in the Uplifted Spirits wing," Dulath muttered to herself as she cleared another den. "They would have these corridors clean and safe in minutes..."

It was an overestimation of the dragon's abilities of course, their human companions would have been far better at it, but to Dulath the dragons were also just as capable.

At last... the eggs began to shake.

It was a wait that was worth every moment, for Dulath. She always loved to see the results of hatchings, it was in her semi-queenly nature. And what made this clutch so much more special was that they were her kin.

The others that gathered around were varying stages of dragon, human, and otherwise. Eventually the nervous Emalya told everyone good luck - Dulath heard her bond make some snide remark. She thought that being nervous for your first nest breaking was just as important as being composed for the next.

Everyone watched as a garnet slowly forced his way out of the shell. He chose his pair, and then more eggs decided to snap open. Beautiful little Lians came from each. Each of the dragonets were quite sure of themselves, if a little wobbly on their feet. Dulath was so proud of her great grandchildren...

One of them had found his way to the greeny-gold's side. In her mind, she felt his own touch her. It was delicate, but deep. Dulath? I am Brinle.

"Hello, Brinle!" Dulath chuckled and nudged him gently. This would be a bond worth exploring.

However, neither of them felt like leaving. There were so many eggs on the sands yet to break, so they waited. At last, with the last batch of hatchlings heading off to their destined pairs, a pearl colored female stumbled over to the sapphire and green-gold. "I'm hungry!" She exclaimed. "Oh - but my name is Cirrya."

Brinle scooted over to her, and they framed Dulath on their way out to the feeding area. There was no doubt that Dulath could take care of these two. They wouldn't grow up to be the unmanagable size that so many other dragons she'd helped at their youth did.

And they were her own bonds.

..

It took longer than Dulath expected, for these little gemstone Lians to grow. She herself was small, and in no small part (no pun intended) her own size had influenced theirs. After all a proud ancestress like herself should know where all her offspring have been dawdling.

She'd heard that her children and grandchildren and all the eggs that any dragon ought to be able to count numbered in the hundreds by now.

Proudly, Dulath gazed at the disparate pair she'd brought back to the Healing Den, and sighed.

Baeris looked at the dragon with a smirk. "What are you sighing about now? You've got your little bonds."

"And they are not nearly as 'pest-y' as you thought they would be!" Dulath said. The sapphire Brinle turned in his sleep and then yawned. He nudged pearl Cirrya awake.

"They are talking about us, I think." Brinle said. His clutch sister nodded.

"Indeed they are. They should! We are special!" Cirrya gave off a magical little giggle, and even Baeris grinned to hear it.

..

While the Lians grew to their eventual full size - something managable and complaint-free - less than seven or eight feet nose to tail, Dulath set about finding things for them to do around the Den.

They made exceptional curriers, from one level of the Den to the next. However, they were curious and exceptionally smart. This pair of tiny glimmering dragons.... They learned to read. And they would occasionally read the letters or information they were entrusted to carry.

"You know you're not supposed to do that," Cirrya said as she accompanied her clutch mate to their destination. They both carried packages of paperwork from Baeris' out-box to wherever it was addressed. Of course they had to be taught to read. Baeris couldn't constantly tell them everything. So it was in a way her own damn fault when they'd read her private notes.

They learned not to read the ones she sent to Kalkin's office. Mostly because of how he would react, not Baeris. Dulath of course didn't care either way if they read the stuff or not - she knew everything that her human bond wrote out from the other side of the brain.

Dulath had nothing but love for these two. They often snuggled down to sleep together in her den, beyond Baeris' own rooms. They would sometimes discuss the information they had transported, with her, when they would snooze.

This time, however, it wasn't going to be so easy. Brinle stopped in his tracks, and his pearlescent sister clomped into him from behind. "Hey!" She said.

"Hey yourself.... Look at this!" Brinle sat down and used his deft finger-paws to turn the paper toward her. "There is a flight."

"Well that's hardly anything new," she muttered.

"No, no, look - closer. It isn't a full dragon flight. It's for us. Lian dragons. Since ... well, since the Nook kind of ..." He looked away. It wasn't exactly dead, but it was hardly the place full of life that they all expected it to be.

"I want to go," Cirrya said, nodding. "Do you?"

"I will not fly you, my sister, there must be a..." Brinle got a gleam in his swirling eye.

*** (keep reading)

They visited the egg room, where two more Lians rested quietly among the warm nests. The brilliantly fire-colored Forro, and the cool water-colored Huvos. Together they guarded the Flitter Containment Unit.

"We have some information we would like to share," Brinle said. Huvos looked up at the sapphire male with interest.

"There is to be a flight," Cirrya said, eagerly indicating the paperwork. "For us."

"Congratulations," Forro said. She laid her head down and folded her tail over her nose.

"For Lians," Brinle corrected. They both perked up at that.

"Then... Where is it?" Huvos said, standing. He was slightly older than the pair before them, and acted his age - he had responsibilities and Forro made sure that they were carried out...

"Ryslen - we should go. We can come right back, you know." Cirrya purred. It wasn't that she truly fancied Huvos but it was his exotic name... Most of their kind had a particular kind of ending on their name, and neither of these did. They were special.

The great-grandchildren of Dulath made sure that Huvos and Forro knew how special they could be... They would hopefully provide the world with a new generation of Lians!