When the pair of hunters came back from their successful Run, Omaciyu glanced at Temih to make sure that she was happy with their work. She seemed distant, and that displeased him.

Though he was only a decade her senior, he knew that she looked upon him like a father, rather than a ... Well, he'd have to work out becoming her mate someday - with her permission.

The guys were arguing, and rather than put an end to it, it seemed Temih had had enough conversation and companionship for the night. She strode out of the cavern, and up the hillside to her own den. Omaciyu wanted to rise and follow her - but that would certainly be noticed by the others.

Though now, now that she was gone probably until morning, would be a good time to bring up the subject to the rest of the males. Omaciyu gave a chuffling sound, and commanded the attention of the males. Most had blood still on their pale chins, licking it off and cleaning themselves took a number of minutes.

Omaciyu paced about, his golden tail touching the violet cloak he wore. Some of the males said he tried to be too Human, in his elegant clothing. Dijo didn't argue, his own extravagant kimono would only attract attention to his non-human nature if he were to wander through Human space.

When everyone had finished up, or cleaned off sufficiently, Omaciyu crouched high over the common room on a ledge designed to show off a speaker.

"Temih is grown restless," he said, "and though she claims that she has no interest in any of us, we know she is ignoring her own body's opinion."

"It's no opinion," said Ihnala, picking a piece of gristle from his fangs with a sharp pale claw. "She has the scent of readiness on her, and she refuses to believe it."

"What would you know," Qodara spat, "you're hardly one to talk. Not one of us have ever been around a female in heat, and you know it."

"We will not fight amongst ourselves," Omaciyu said, loudly. That calmed the pair down, barely. "Not if we can do something else in the meantime."

"Would you have us prepare nests?" Ihfosa asked, "There are good denning areas all around the plains, but I'd rather have her here where she will be safe."

"She's a danger to others, more than anything," Hala grumbled.

"We know your thoughts," Omaciyu said, nodding. "I would rather know that our tribe will continue on even if we must confront the Human forces, or the Others."

"Then what are we doing in the mean time?" Asked Utori, "collecting bugs? Making clothing? We've got all we need already."

"Perhaps we could find another way to impress her," Omaciyu said, thinking. Something had edged in on the far portion of his mental landscape, something odd. And distant. "Games perhaps, skill or mental energy, those might interest her. Plying her with more weapons is more trouble than it's worth," he said, and the others laughed, knowing Temih's propensity to trade for the best weapons before she even showed the rest of the Tribe.

"I think that is all I had to say," he said, and the rest mostly went back to their eating or grooming.

Omaciyu slipped outside, to get some water and clear his head. The sun had set not long before, and he still could smell Temih's distinct scent where she'd sat watching it. On a strange whim, Omaciyu went quietly up to the edge of Temih's den.

He could smell the big Stork Kin before he heard her gruff hoarse voice, and they were laughing. Bol was such an odd creature. But, friendly enough.

They were talking about him? His feet?

"I have big feet?" Omaciyu whispered, looking at his foot-paws. He stretched them out, looking at the blunt claws and ... well, he hadn't thought of them as all that big.

Sulking, he wandered up to the top of their plateau and grumped about his 'big feet'. "I do not have big feet. I have ... strong running-pads." He harrumphed.

Looking at the sky, the stars had begun to shimmer in the thick night air. It was late summer, the rains would come soon. Fortunately, the monsoon season didn't hit as hard here in the center of the Three Mount area, protected by huge mountains on the south-west and south-east, and then the big Inner Ocean to the south. It was always a little wet, so the monsoons didn't seem so bad.

A falling star caught Omaciyu's attention. It sped through the air, brightly. But... it didn't go away. Instead, it stayed visible just on the horizon.

"Another ship," he sighed. "Just what we needed."

He got up to inform the group, but when he did so, another falling star caught his eye. It wasn't as bright - in fact it wasn't bright at all, it was dark but moving.

It was black against the violet-blue sky, and it had wings. That was a ship - or was it? There was no sound, no engines, and it wasn't letting off any vapor trail. What was this thing? Suddenly as it passed overhead at quite high a distance, Omaciyu felt ...

"Minds? Two of them - it's not a ship, it's a creature?" He whispered.

He hustled back to the chambers, but most of the males were asleep already. Their stomachs full, they slumbered and wouldn't be roused easily.

Omaciyu decided to keep mental track of the creatures in the air, as they drifted farther away. They were headed toward the ship on the horizon. Perhaps they ought to head that way in the morning.

The golden-furred cheetah Kin found his way in the dark to his own den. It was cool and lonely, and he hated it that way.

Omaciyu paced around, Tiyaza Citadel seemed to be wearing down to close, rather than gearing up for a hatching. He knew in his heart that when next he might look at this place, it would be empty or deserted.

That panged at his heart - abandoning a place like this seemed sad. But, this was not where the battles were to be held, this was not where the life was lived. He understood from many conversations with local riders that the threats to their worlds were far away - not even on the planet.

His own, of course, needed protecting. That meant that he too would be abandoning the Citadel when his dragon - if he bonded - was old enough.

It was weeks more than they all expected, that this clutch lay on the sands. The weyrwoman was snippy and her golden queen was even more so in response. But at last, the eggs began to move.

As a hunter, Omaciyu knew that the eggs had to be hard to protect them from predators (like him?) but they were difficult to break out of, by their young inhabitants. At least two dozen it looked like, shaking and rolling... The eggs wobbled and finally, one hatched.

There was a cry from the crowd - Omaciyu would normally have ducked for cover in such noise, but there was something far more important on his mind than the cheering of the people in the stands.

A strong, certain tingling entered his mind, right when the brown-bodied hatchling came from his shell. He wasn't so much a bumbling hatchling as Oma had expected, he was a proud, certain dragonet. His bronze wings spread out and elicited a trumpet from the sire up on a ledge - his doing no doubt, because he was not a single-colored dragon either.

Oma knew - as the dragonet walked around the males who had lined up around the eggs... He knew that when the dragonet stopped it would be...

Directly before him, the sure-eyed and confident dragonet sat down.

But the first thing that the dragon said to him was surprising.

Who is Temih?

Omaciyu was taken aback, the dragonet knew all about that too? What else? Questions flew in Omaciyu's mind but then the dragonet rustled his wings and made for the more important question and answers.

I am Yseth by the way. And is there any chance of you getting me some food now?

The crowd drowned out any of Oma's verbal responses, because another pair of eggs had finally hatched. But in his mind, of course, he told little Yseth everything he knew.

Of course there was food - right that way. And Temih... They would return to talk of Temih for months.

***

In the growing time, while Yseth's wings spread and grew strong and he began to show signs of the proud spiny crest that Tiyaza dragons had, Omaciyu took a stroll around to see if there was anything he could help with at the weyr.

Things were starting to look a bit ... wound down. There were few new riders in the weyr, and he knew that some time they'd all be gone. They still came and went for fighting threats but for now, their home was still Tiyaza.

While he was walking around the Citadel, however, Omaciyu came across the firelizard keepers. They urged him to take an egg and some meat from the kitchens. The keepers were quite adamant that he take at least one egg - it would be a shame to leave these flitters wild.

So, wondering what he would do with such a creature, Oma held the warm, shaking egg in his paw hands, and let himself into the kitchens. As usual there were few people present. He could hunt just as easily as wait for a meal here.

He didn't have to wait long, either - there was a mouse skittering across the floor. With a deft paw he swiped it into the air, killing it instantly. With his other, he felt the egg begin to crack.

"Well, just in time," he said, splitting the mouse's fur open with his sharp thumb claw. The hot blood of the creature got on his one hand - while the warm gooey eggshell came open on his left. But in the place of the egg, still wet and kind of slimy, was a beautiful bronze flitter!

"That's quite a wing span you have on you," Oma said, as he ripped part of the mouse off for the flitter. Eagerly the two predators took turns muching on it. Oma didn't have much taste for innards - but the bronze sure did.

"... Gastric delights abound," Omaciyu said as he came back to his den.

What is that? Why have you brought it? You are all bloody!

"It's... Gaz, that's what his name is. Gaz, meet Yseth." Omaciyu presented the little bronze.

I see.... it's all bloody too. Why don't I get to play?

***

With the coming of winter, Tiyaza seemed all but deserted. Some of the smaller, quickly grown dragonets from the first and last clutch here had already flown off with their riders to their far flung worlds, but bigger ones like Yseth had to practice more to get their full wing strength.

Omaciyu relished his days here, there was much to learn. Humans and kin-types alike mingled here. But then, they did so in other worlds too. Sometimes to better or worse success than his own Planet Twenty.

Where is this place, and will we go there soon? I want to see this woman, you are so concerned about her.

"I... I know that, Yseth, it's just that I know she can take care of herself. I have to wonder what has happened in the meantime. We've been apart but when we all come together again," Omaciyu explained, "we'll all be right where we started, or when I should say. Other people won't know that we've spent more than a year apart. To the other tribals there, it'll be as though overnight we've gotten all these dragons."

And a good thing too, Yseth nodded his horned head, because I sense you will need us in the times to come.

"Let's head back to the Plateau. I think you'll really like it there. Even with the other dragons, and we'll have to find you and me a bigger nest."

I will not fit in your cubbyhole! Yseth grumbled. I might when I was little, but I am no longer little.

"I noticed," Omaciyu said, as he placed some riding gear around the dragon's neck. The long spines above and behind him would protect him but Oma always worried that perhaps he'd be speared if the dragon turned the wrong way. That was a private thing, incomprehensible to the dragon himself.

Omaciyu paid his respects to those few riders who remained at the Citadel, and then they were ready to go. Gaz landed on Oma's shoulder, folding his big wings down. The flitter had grown huge - hunting for mice in the larders and chasing away the cats.

Will she like me? Yseth asked, as they flew off over the expanse of the Citadel's landscape.

"Of course she will! I wonder what she's bonded?"

A good female I am sure, Yseth said with confidence. How could he have known how right he was? Or, how odd their meeting would be?