HATCHING
Rebecca was woken up in the very early hours of a new day. She had spent quite some time at Darkling Dawn. It felt strange somehow to know that time was passing for her but not for her parents... or it was passing for them but she and her brother would return earlier. Rebecca smiled at her struggling to make sense of the concept. In a very basic level she did grasp how it worked, but she wasn't even near to figuring out all the consequences.
Would it be as early in the morning on Earth? If she had to believe what Kansas said they would be back by the next morning's first light. So it was night on Earth how odd that felt. Rebecca walked with the other candidates to the Sands. She had had ample opportunity to visit them. The sand had frightened her at first, it's yellow grainy structure reminding her of the desert...
But if there was one place in the universe where she was safe from Death it was on the Sands. There was a saying that birth and death walked hand in hand, but Rebecca hadn't felt any such alliance in the Cavern. She felt safer there with the huge golden queen always watching.
As she entered the cave that night -or was it morning?- she saw the three other female candidates huddle together, trying to catch some standing shut eye. 
Rebecca smiled. The nightmares hadn't ceased, they had merely lost some of their edge. But even that had been enough to have her enjoy sleeping again. Rebecca felt she would be fully awake in another five minutes if she just kept her eyes open. 
A little impatient she looked at the eggs. 16 eggs, 4 candidates. Rebecca wasn't a math wiz but she at least she knew that that would give problems. What would happen to the dragons that didn't get a bond? Could they all find a place out there in the large universe. 
Rebecca looked up at the fathers of the clutch and watched as they hovered proudly at the opening of the cave. Both the brown and the Bronze seemed to beam with as much light as the gold mother. 
A silent hush waved across the layers of seats as the first egg cracked. A bronze! Rebecca marvelled at his shiny skin and soft fragile wings. He was male, obviously, and apparently not willing to bond one of the 4 girls on the sands.
A swirl of dragons followed that first male. The hatching eggs faded into each other, Rebecca enjoying every minute of the spectacle. She couldn't remember ever having experienced something as intense as a hatching. but then... she hadn't yet fallen in love, had children. Some of these life events had to compare to a hatching... there just had to be. Rebecca couldn't imagine her life having been so much bereft on Earth.
Finally, when 13 eggs had hatched, Alequveyth stood up and revealed a golden egg. Rebecca grasped. Golds were the highest among dragons. When she had learned about the ranks she had been certain she would receive a green, had even dreamed of a female blue... but a gold was more than she had ever hoped for.
But the queen mother didn't seem much impressed by Rebecca. What if her daughter thought so too? What if she had to wait for the next clutch to bond... countless more nights with nightmares and fear. Not too mention stretching Anubith between her and her brother, exhausting him as well.
The egg hatched, the gold that spilled out, a glorious female, went straight for Rebecca, creeling with hunger. Rebecca could only look down with a huge smile on her face when the gold butted her side, lashing her tail around Rebecca's legs.
"My name is Aten, Rebecca."
Rebecca stroked Aten's skin in wonder and gazed into her eyes. The next few moments were theirs only, private little thoughts that made a world of difference.
"Oh Aten... You don't know how happy I am that you chose me."
"How could I leave someone like you standing?" the gold asked.

                                           Gold Aten

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WEYRLING
Rebecca had taken some time off to fly back to Earth. Very few people knew about her timed flights to her hometown desert, least of all her brother. He'd be mortified if he knew she returned occasionally to the desert that haunted his dreams. Her own nightmares had stopped after she'd impressed Aten.
"Of course. I am stronger than a brown." the dragoness told her.
"And bigger." Rebecca smiled, "I feel safe with you, but I don't think it's Anubith's fault that Kansas is still suffering. I think Kansas is still keeping secrets from me."
"Anubith says that he's afraid of himself."
"Why?"
Rebecca knew Kansas wouldn't hurt a soul. He was one of the kindest, most thoughtful men around. Although she was his elder sister, she recently feeled that it was she who leane don him. Maybe she was the burden that still troubled Kansas. He had felt unmeasurable guilt for abandoning her to danger after he'd left.
"Men." Aten sighed, "They never do get over the past."
Rebecca looked out over the sandy plains and dunes that changed appearance every time she came. The sun never had the same light nor did it reflect in the same way on the sand that was an almost inperceptible different shade from every other time she visited.
"I'm not afraid anymore." Rebecca said.
"He feels the rage of power inside himself." Aten said, "Until he accepts it as part of himself it will rebel."
"And yet... I just can't tell him that." Rebecca confided.
The sun slowly set and the different angle coloured the sand orange-red. It was a beautiful place that rebecca had once feared. But no more. The desert could be as beautiful as a mountain lake or a forest in bloom. It was nature in one of it's forms and need not be feared.
"Rebecca..." Aten called.
"What?"
"I feel the presence of people coming this way."
"Anything interesting to take to Darkling Dawn?" she asked her dragon.
"Yes, but do you think it's wise to keep taking from the same spot?"
"You know how weyrwoman Rahel enjoys our accent." she laughed, "And besides, this place is cursed. Only the fearless come here. Aren't it those people we need?"
"Yes, but it might be dangerous this time." Aten warned, "There's 6 people, two of them are being held by the other 4 and it doesn't seem like they'd let them go that easily. I see guns."
"Who would you take?" Rebecca asked.
"The two people who are captured." Aten replied, "The others would not bond well."
"You always expect much." Rebecca chided.
"I need to uphold a reputation."
No candidate that Aten had searched had impressed less than a brown. She had decided early on that only the ones who'd be loved by dragons were the ones she'd bring to Darkling Dawn, even if it meant that several worthy blue and greenriders had been left unbothered.
Rebecca got on Aten's back and together they flew to the group of people.
"I'll scare of the bad guys." Aten said with a pleasure that was unusual for her.
The dragon flew up high and then descended lazily, as if a big black shadow was falling on them. The flapping of her wings produced a steady breeza that grew until the sand below was affected. Aten dropped and made sure more than one of the criminals was incapacitated by her drop.
Rebecca heard a scream and then saw someone run away into the desert. She hoped he'd taken the direction which would lead back into the city. She descended from Aten's back and looked around. Only the two captives were left. Their hands were bound and they could not go anywhere. Right in front of her one of them, an Egyptian by the looks of his curly black hair, was struggling with his bounds.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
He looked up at her and wondered if Isis had come to take him with her to heaven. She smiled when she heard the line through Aten's bond and felt better about her trip already. Not a woman alive would be mad at being compared to the godess of fertility.
"I might take you to the sky." Rebecca laughed, "But heaven is too soon for you."
Aten meanwhile sat in front of the other captive who just stared back. Aten thought it was a fun game though rebecca doubted the man thought the same. He was from European descent as was she. Maybe even British. She helped up the man in front of her and couldn't help but look into his dark brown eyes. He himself was more worried about his companion and after that, of course, he was awed by Aten.
"My name is Rebecca." she said, "And this is my dragon, Aten."
"We have come with an invitation to Darkling Dawn."

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ADULT
Rebecca woke up and felt different. Her heart raced like she'd been running up and down the stairs to the top of the mountain walls. Her throat felt dry and her body was uncomfortably warm. She opened her eyes and sat up. Nothing stirred in her living quarters.
On second thought no-one but her was there. That was unusual, normally Aten loved to laze around for just that half hour more of rest while rebecca got washed and dressed. So where was she now?
"I'm flying." Aten's voice told her.
And then rebecca was away. Her mind caught by the vortex that was the dragon's experience. It was not routine but knowledge that kept rebecca from falling. She had seen mating flights before and had heard the stories. She knew that the way she was feeling one with Aten, which was so much more than usual, meant that her gold had finally decided to rise.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Rebecca asked, trying to stay calm and collected, which was hard.
"I did not know." Aten said.
And it was true. Aten had not shown any of the usual changes in behaviour. She had not grown grumpy or irritated. She had not felt lazy or energetic. She'd just been Aten.
"Never mind." Rebecca said, "Who is chasing you?"
"I don't know all of them, but there's 4 bronzes, one of whom is Druedoniath. And then there's about 3 browns who're trying to keep up." Aten said, followed by, "I'll lose the browns quickly though."
"Be wary of sudden betweens." Rebecca warned, "Anubith isn't chasing, is he?"
"No."
Technically Anubith and Aten weren't related. that their riders were did not always matter to dragons when they got caught up in their instincts. There were solutions for that kind of situation of course, but not ones she'd really like to try.
Rebecca flew on, feeling the wind and sky through the close bond she shared with Aten. For a long time the gold dragoness just flew straight. Not bothering to manoeuvre just yet. Rebecca felt stronger now that she and Aten had been joined for a longer period of time and she knew that the browns had all fallen behind, as had one of the bronzes, an older male who had lost too much of his energy when he had tried to catch Aten from above.

The three remaining bronzes were all young dragons still. They had matured though and in the prime of their strength. Druedoniath flew second, Mohammed knew. One large bronze dragon, Kreonath, flew before him. In terms of strength Druedoniath would lose to him, but Mohammed knew he was too eager. Aten would not leave the competition for her with just a match in endurance. Behind Druedoniath another Bronze, Rendath, barely adult was straining his wings to keep up. Druedoniath knew as well as his rider that he would not hold on much longer. Unless he took action the flight was over for him.
Suddenly Rendath vanished and popped out of between above Aten. He propelled down, wagering all of his remaining strength on one lucky catch. He did not make it. Aten swooped down and right and avoided his clumsy catch without much effort.
From this point on, Aten decided to not just fly straight anymore. In a spectacular aerial display of flexibility she spun, twirled, dove and rose, hoping to throw off one of the remaining two bronzes. Mohammed believed the two of them were evenly matched and the chase should prove interesting. Of course, he had reason to wish his own Druedoniath won the flight.
Maybe danger had played with his endorphines, but the moment he'd seen rebecca on the night she'd saved him like the incarnation of Isis, he'd been lovelorn. He really could not deny it. He was a gentleman though and courted her slowly. He talked with her, invited her to diner, but had never openly asked her to date him. Had not even spoken of the feelings he had for her.
So currently he had two problems. One, Rebecca didn't know how he felt about her and neither had she told him she liked him to make him think he had more chance of winning in this flight. And two, Druedoniath still had the same adoration for his sister Falideth he'd had when he'd been born. Mohammed could not say if it was just admiration, family love or more. He'd probed his dragon time and time again, but no clear answer had come.
At least Druedoniath was flying now. Maybe he could hope that the young bronze was ready to leave his improbable first crush behind and move on to someone new. Someone his rider wanted with all his heart.
"And what about my heart?" Druedoniath asked.
"I know it is selfish of me to ask. But I love her." Mohammed said.
Druedoniath followed the loopings Aten made and caught up just a tiny bit with Kreonath because of his smaller size. He could take smaller loops which made him faster. Getting more excited, Druedoniath asked more of his wings and muscles. Slowly he was gaining.
"Why did you not tell her sooner?"
"I'm not good with words..."
"That's not the reason."
Druedoniath evaded Aten's tail as it smashed down between the two bronzes. Kreonath tried to grasp it, but managed only to graze it before Aten whished off again. The two bronzes continued the pursuit.
"Maybe I'm shy." Mohammed said.
"Or maybe you are chicken." Druedoniath added.

Rebecca felt her heart lurch into her throat every time Aten performed a loop. She begged for the mating flight to end because she really couldn't deal with it much longer.
"Seasick?" Aten asked.
"Never tried sailing." Rebecca wheezed, "But I can't take it."
"Then you decide." Aten said, "Druedoniath or Kreonath? Mohammed or D'ren?"
Rebecca tried to chose between the two men. They were both around her age. Both were taller than her. Both were strong. The difference lay mostly in their personality. Mohammed was the silent type, the thinker who she found often to be a bit gloomy. D'ren on the other hand was open and extravert. She'd enjoyed his company at parties. But did she feel anything more for either of them.
"Hurry." Aten told her, "Or the race will be decided by speed."
"I don't know..." rebecca desperately thought.
"Keronath is first... I'll slip back..."
"No!" Rebecca called.
"Then Druedoniath it is."
Aten rose up and fell back, describing a daring backward loop which brought her on a collision course with Druedoniath. The two dragons grabbed hold of each other and fell.
Rebecca opened her eyes and saw a familiar silhouette at the entrance of her living quarters. Mohammed hesitated a bit to come in, opened his mouth and then shook his head. Finally he asked,
"Can I come in?"
"Yes." Rebecca said and let him take over.

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Rebecca impressed at Darkling Dawn