"I see," Cybill said, looking over the permission form. "Well, it's supposed to be for everyone, but I guess when you're an import orphan, it's a different story." Cybill walked from one end of the room to the other, conversing with someone on her headgear. She apparently saw a little holographic image of the person in her eye, but it was invisible and of course inaudible to those watching her end of the conversation. The whole class sat there watching, as Cybill got more and more annoyed.

"But - no, just listen," she said, finally starting to snap. "They're not from here, and they're both - you aren't listening are you." She sighed, and then rolled her eyes. Her vivid hair with the black-bottom dye job marked her as a member of a strange cult - and suddenly she realized that again. Sometimes she forgot.

"Never mind, Kade, just never mind, I'll get it myself." She said, and snapped off the phone in her headset. "I'll handle this. You siddown," she pointed to Magg, "and you," she pointed to a shy little girl who sat in the corner, "time for you to start digging for information about how to gather a mob."

While the girl hemmed and hawed, wondering aloud what she was doing in a class this crazy, Magg watched Cybill. She appeared to be clicking something on her cyberdeck, and then got a response. But she was subvocalizing, not audible to the class. However Magg was not your typical student. He was attuned to things such as sound - it was what got him into trouble back at home anyway. When Vocorr took the lives of his parents, and threw him in a temporary jail - where he got aquainted with Anima....

'Good,' Cybill was saying, 'okay. I can get your signature and no one will even bother looking it up. Yeah well Kade is an idiot and I don't know who put him in charge of off-world relations, I thought that - yeah I know. Well, okay, gotta go. I'll have the paperwork in my office. It's due soon. Get your butt on over here. Thanks.'

Her conversation was far more intriguing than Sally's treatise on mob rule. Magg caught Cybill's eye, and she smiled widely and nodded. She mouthed 'it's going to be fine', and they got back to their class work.

***

When Anima found out what they had to do to get their permission slips signed, she was a bit flustered. The man standing there in the darkened courtyard (it was nearly the middle of the night, for some reason he'd decided to only show up after sunset - maybe he didn't want to be seen by anyone important) was another BlackBottom, like Cybill, but he had a dragon with him.

"That's a really pretty boy," Anima said with a purr, trying to distract herself. "Pridath," she said, and the dragon turned his head.

How did you know my name? The RainBlue asked.

Taken aback just a bit, Anima shook her head, and her ears were down. "I... I don't know, I might have heard them talking. I'm sorry," she stated, hoping that this didn't change things.

Blitz, the dragon's rider, gazed at her with a bit of a leer, but shortly it turned to a wide-eyed look. He and Pridath were obviously communicating, and even Cybill remained silent for his private talk.

"She's ready to bond," Blitz said, "hand over the paperwork. I can't stand the thought of Kade preventing anyone like this from standing somewhere. Just because of a little signature," he muttered while he took the papers, read the contract over first (which Magg noticed, but Anima barely even saw, since she was still rather enamored of Pridath) and signed two places, then the second sheet for Magg.

"Thank you so much," Cybill said, "I owe you."

"No you don't," Blitz said, smiling. "All you need to do is ask. Even though the Blackbottoms are scattered to time and space," he said significantly, "we're still as close as we need to be for help."

Pridath pushed his wings up, their rainbow hues reflecting the small light from the nearby lamp post. Blitz got onto his dragon and they swept into the air, silently. They vanished a moment later, teleporting back to who-knew-where.

Magg thought he sensed a direction, they were headed to a Saturn base that existed only in a couple realities.

But how he knew that was as much a mystery as how Anima knew the dragon's name without being told. Cybill hadn't primed them for it, and they hadn't gotten it from her mind the hard way either.

"Now don't forget to do your other homework," she said, "because you have to remember, if you go out somewhere and you do bond a dragon?" Cybill waited for both of them to return their attention to her steady gaze, "you're going to still be expected to complete the courses you've signed up for here too. We know there is no excuse, even for all Hollis says about the work? He's always got a boatload of volunteers to help out with the duties. It's hardly as much work as he claims it is."

Both students were a bit relieved. But they were similarly disappointed - they didn't get out of their other classes if they bonded?! Gyp!

***

For the next two days, their classes went as normal, except for that the Dragon class was put on hiatus and the students were allowed to do a bit more private study and homework for their other classes, pending their trip. In the big Dragon Studies room, the twelve students were mostly silent, except for one or two who had to practice their Sumerian Dialog for their Language class.

"So are you ready?" Anima asked the girl, whose name was Juniper. Juniper Jones.

She nodded eagerly, "I think so. Even if I don't bond big, I know I'm going to have fun. This will be my first time offworld, and my mom is totally frantic. She's never gotten used to me going to a school like this, but she'll have to just chill."

"That's the attitude," Anima giggled. "You could come to the cheer rally, later on. Heckle the visiting team."

"You guys compete, that's right," Juniper sighed, "I don't know, I'm still getting used to the idea of being around such amazing people..." She glanced to Magg, "your boyfriend's really cute," she stated obviously.

"I know," Anima grinned. "He is."

Of course he heard them, and his gaze moved to the girls. Anima showed her teeth in a wild smile, while Juniper blushed almost maroon. How could she know that they would eagerly share? That couldn't get out - and certainly could never get back to her mother - it would ruin a lot of people if they started acting that way. It faintly disappointed not only Anima and Magg, but Juniper and a dozen other people they'd flirted with over the last two weeks.

"I hope I have time for Cheer," Anima said as an afterthought - she just realized that the effort of a dragonet would probably be exhausting.

"Don't worry - I think you will," Juniper said. "You guys are totally inexhaustable."

"Good word," Magg asserted, "I like it when applied to money, good times, and new music."

They shared laughter, and a bit of nervous chatter. They'd long since finished their homework and class preparations. Now they merely waited for the bus.

***

"Well you didn't think we'd be going by bus, did you?" Exclaimed Hollis to Kade the rather annoying admin assistant. He waved his arms in exasperation and Synesth gave off a large rumbling snort of bemusement.

"These... creatures? They are completely non-standard and - and -" he seemed to be searching for any excuse, "they aren't covered in our insurance!" Kade announced. He was a middle aged man with way too much time on his hands, not enough good sense, and hardly an ounce of humor to him.

The whole dragon riding class stood around hoping that they didn't get delayed too much by this guy. They'd all run into him one time or another - especially those in their Junior or Senior years. Most of the class was younger, but they all had heard how he'd tried to stop Anima and Magg's paperwork from going through.

"Kade, you're going to let these kids go now, because they will more likely than not be coming back here on their own dragons. They've got to learn how to ride, and frankly we can't reach half the places we need to be by using an interstellar transport. Plus that would take forever." Hollis heard a couple people chuckling, he'd spoken a bit about travel with dragons being far superior to almost any other form - and he only knew one or two people who could teleport themselves as well as dragons could.

"The teleportation clause in our contract does not cover ... biological means!" Kade insisted. He was all but exploding. Magg had finally had enough.

He walked up carefully, towering over the admin by at least a full head, and he looked down his beaklike nose at the ruddy-skinned human. Blinking, Magg watched as Kade noticed he was being stared at. Everyone on the dragon landing had stopped bickering or talking - they were waiting for Magg to do something.

It felt like there was music playing loudly somewhere nearby, but no one could hear anything. In fact it was pushing at the insides of everyone's chests - almost like standing too close to a bassbox at a concert in a small arena or dance hall. The thumping of everyone's hearts threatened to make a couple people scream or faint, but they kept it together.

"Mister Kade," Magg said, very low and with a faint growl in his deep voice, "we have all had our ... parents or guardians," he read over Kade's clipboard, "sign on the dotted line that our lives are now in our own hands and that you and Carramba High have no liability in this matter. I do believe that we all have the sense in our heads to not try to get hurt on our way. But if you prevent us from being on our way there is no telling quite what will happen. To you." He paused, "by accident of course. These dragons are getting a bit antsy. They'd like to be on their way. As would we all..."

While there was a clear threat in his speech, Kade almost ignored it. He was too busy watching the dangerous gleam of green and lightning behind Magg's eyes. Something about his eyes was completely entrancing - those almond shaped eyes played games, and often won them. The music in the hearts of everyone nearby was deafening without causing a sound.

"I see." Kade said, curtly. "Well. Then. We will be awaiting your return. Have a .... good trip." He spun on his heel and left the dragon flat. Everyone watched him go, and the music they all could feel faded as Magg's anger left him.

"Well," Hollis said, "that was different. Let's go. You two," he pointed at a pair of burly boys, "the big brown is waiting for you. Mike, Taylor, you're on the blue there," Hollis gave instructions for everyone, now that they had the full field. "I want you two with me," he said to Anima and Magg. "There is somewhere I want to take you and talk. About what you just did," there was a faint warning in his voice, but both Anima and Magg nodded. How could they refuse?

***

It was an asteroid, a tiny one, that somehow supported atmosphere. It was hardly big enough for a dragon, and there was not really any place to get comfortable. There was, really, but it wasn't meant for these people - in fact this asteroid should not have technically even existed. But it did, so they were there. Reality was being seriously bent for this group.

Hollis didn't even bother waiting until the pair had dismounted from the wide back of the huge bronze. "What was that? That you did?"

"I was giving him a piece of my mind." Magg said simply.

"Well you almost gave me a fucking heart attack, so don't do it again. Some of us are a lot more sensitive to psionic energy than others - and you two have been all but pouring it on since you got to Carramba."

With an embarrassed start, Anima said, "sorry."

"I'm not sorry," Magg said. "You have to know that we're not just kids, right?"

"Of course you aren't kids. Carramba is a refuge, though, and you're still welcome there." Hollis said. "But don't do that again. Not unless you really have to and I'm not there."

"I'll check the psionic registry next time I want to threaten someone," Magg said. He had gotten kind of cold, eyes narrowing and back straight. Hollis didn't want this.

"Don't get all huffy, frizz boy," Hollis said. "I could just leave you here. One of those accidental things you mentioned."

"You wouldn't do that!" Anima said, surprised.

"Of course he would. He's supposedly ruthless sometimes." Magg said. "But I was under the impression that we were on your side of the tracks. And your ruthless behavior never extended to your friends or allies."

"You've done some studying."

"I've been around," Magg said. "Your warning has been taken, don't worry. I was not going to let that jerk stand in our way. Would you rather have stood around arguing with him all day? He was ready to."

"I know," Hollis said. "Come on, I'm sorry - and be careful. Next time someone starts to get on your bad side, Magg, just walk away."

"We've been running all our lives," Anima said. "And we're both tired of walking away. We've never made a stand."

"It's going to change," Magg said. "We will be making a stand. Not yet, but we will."

Hollis prodded them back onto the bronze, and they headed away again. He was worried - they were still kids in many ways. Impulsive, yet smart. Experienced but only in things that kids shouldn't be. They both showed signs of never having had a proper childhood - so they were trying hard at Carramba. He could hardly blame them.

They were good kids - old kids - and he hoped they came back to Carramba side by side with him and Synesth.

***

Back at Carramba High...

In a narrow office, with no extra decoration and no frivolous papers to get in the way, Kede sat down and stared at his telephone. The safe window would open shortly. What would he tell them?

Finally the phone rang, and he picked up the reciever gingerly. "Hello," he said.

"You let them go?" Said a slightly garbled voice on the line.

"I had to - the male has certain ... powers. Dangerous ones."

"Yes, agent KD, that is why we needed you to restrain him on Earth for pickup."

Kade swallowed, hard, but said nothing. He knew that this was going to end badly. Unless... "Sir, if I may suggest? Perhaps if one of our other agents in the field ... went along? I am certain that they could be caught up with, it has only been a few minutes since they left. I realize that teleportation is instant, but they have yet to complete their training, and locate bonding sites."

There was a pause on the line, but then the voice came back. "Well, Agent KD that seems to be a better plan than merely allowing them to escape. We will be handling that on our end. If they come back, your job will be to continue to observe. If they do not, you will know that your idea worked."

Kade smiled a bit, and hung up.

Vocorr would be attending dragon hatchings - that was almost blasphemous.