Three Days Later...

A dragon bugle overhead signaled the arrival of Kassandra's ride to the Gather. "Mama, he's here!" she shouted from her room. With one last glance in the mirror, Kassandra turned and saw her mother in the door. "Oh Kassandra, you look lovely!" "Mama.." Kassandra blushed. "Now I only get to see you in a dress ever so often and it's a shame because you look so beautiful!" Arlin hugged Kassandra tightly as there was a knock on the door. "Coming!" she shouted and wrenched free from her mother. Practically running down the hall, Kassandra stopped just before the door and made sure her dress wasn't wrinkled. Taking a deep breath, she swung open the door and saw the grinning face of Y'les. "How are ya, Kass?"

"Y'les!" she squealed with girlish delight and jumped, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I see you haven't grown any!" he said, laughingly. "I'm so glad to see you! How long has it been, ten turns or more?" Y'les set her back on her feet and looked down at Etoile winding around his legs. "Who's this?" "That's the nuisance that adopted Kassie!" They turned and saw Arlin standing in the hallway. "Agh! Arlin! My favorite adopted mother! How are you?" "I'm fine, c'mere!" she threw her arms wide and hugged him tightly, almost to suffocation.

We must hurry if we wish to make it on time, Y'les.

"You heard your dragon, let's go!" Kassandra poked Y'les playfully in the back. He turned on her with such an astonished look on his face that she recoiled. "You heard Yassorth?" he asked. "Yes, can't anyone hear a dragon?" she asked defensively. "Only if they want you too. Yassorth, did you mean for Kass to hear you?"

No, rider mine.

Y'les looked down at Kassandra. "I heard that too.." she admitted. "We'll only know for sure when we get to the weyr." he mumbled to himself and padded over to his bronze. "Know what? Know what Y'les!" she shouted after him. With a quick kiss goodbye from her mother, Kassandra hurried out to Yassorth and Y'les helped her up into the riding saddle. He clambered up behind her and strapped them both safely in. "Let's go, Yassorth!" The bronze leapt off and soon they were high above the ground. Kassandra clung to Y'les's arms, never having ridden a-dragonback before. "We're about to go between!" he shouted over the wind. No sooner had those words left his mouth than the icey blackness of between enveloped them. Just before Kassandra thought she would go crazy, they burst out above the pleasantly busy weyr. Clapping her hands over her ears, Kassandra was suddenly assailed by hundreds of voices. "What's wrong?" Y'les asked worriedly.

She cannot block out all the voices of the dragons! They're overwhelming her!

"Help her!" Y'les pleaded as Kassandra moaned, her head throbbing. Yassorth entered a hasty landing spiral, bugling for dragons to get out of his way. Upon landing, Y'les pulled Kassandra from the bronzes back and helped her stand. "Make them stop!" she shouted. The world began to spin and she had to grab Y'les for support.

I'm not helping much, there are too many!

"Well we can't very well ask all of them to shut up, now can we!?" Y'les shouted. Kassandra's knees buckled and she moaned again. Y'les carefully lowered her to the ground. "We need a healer over here!" and a reassuring touch from Yassorth were the last things she heard before she slipped into unconsciousness.