Jaydren thought that this was probably the most exciting thing that had happened to him since the day his mother decided it was finally time to foster him with Solyer. He was going to ride a dragon and see a Hatching! It was lucky indeed that he would have this chance; Solyer was journeyman to a particularly prominant Masterweaver with dragonriding relatives, which was why his journeyman and his foster son were invited to attend with him. He even had a blue dragon to himself (aside from his rider, of course), since the brown dragon carrying the weavers was an older beast and they didn't want to overload him.
The fifteen-turn-old had dreamed of being Searched, like every other teenage boy in the Hold, but clutches had been small enough lately that the Weyr had not had to Search outside their own lower caverns for some time. This was actually the first dragon he'd seen up close. With his gold fire lizard, Aita, curled about his shoulders, he craned his neck up to look at his ride.
Jaydren realized that the blue (Ivath, he reminded himself) wasn't much younger than the brown, now that he had a close look at it. The dragon's body was still a vibrant blue, but around his muzzle and eyeridges the skin had loosened and turned a sort of smoky grey. N'leh, the rider, was still just as fit, but it was hard to miss the grey in his hair and crow's feet around his eyes.
Nevertheless, the dragon was quite a bit larger than he'd expected, and Jaydren couldn't imagine how he could climb onto it until N'leh told his dragon to lower a foreleg. Even so, he still had to grab the hand that N'leh held out to him. Aita hissed and fanned her wings as her perch was jostled, making Jaydren blush and give an apologetic look at the rider.
N'leh just chuckled, however, as two more fire lizards appeared, a brown and a blue. "It's alright, I had such a beauty myself once, until the poor thing fell sick and went between. Are the other two yours as well?"
Jaydren nodded. "The brown's Austy and the blue is Drall. This is Aita. Do you think they'll follow us when we go between?" he asked, concerned that his fire lizards may get lost.
N'leh's answer was reassuring. "Oh, no doubt. Especially that queen. She'll probably want to keep her fair together. Now hold on tight! It won't take long to go between once we're in the air." Ivath rose to his hind legs and flapped his wings a few times before taking off. It was too much for Aita, who leaped off his shoulder and joined the other two lizards, but then the dragon jumped into the air and Jaydren did have to hold on.
"Now, Ivath. Take us between!" Jaydren heard the rider say over the wind and the sound of dragon wings beating the air, and then the world disappeared.
He had been warned it would be cold between, but he hadn't realized just how cold it would be, and he realized he had begun to shiver, though he couldn't feel N'leh nor the dragon he was riding on. He waited, wondering how long it was supposed to take to travel between, and he found it hard to breathe. Was it supposed to take this long? Why weren't they there yet? He was getting dizzy, and wondered how N'leh and Ivath were dealing with it.
Finally, though, they appeared back on Pern again, and he realized both he and N'leh were panting, trying to catch their breath. "Was it supposed to be like that?" Jaydren asked, but he didn't think N'leh could hear him.
Ivath bugled suddenly, and Jaydren hoped it wasn't with fear. Then he saw what the dragon evidently had already noticed--a thick clump of thread, blown directly at them by a sudden gust of wind. Jaydren screamed. What was going on? Thread wasn't supposed to fall for another few days, and even then, it was supposed to fall up in the mountains, not at the Weyr!
Ivath scrambled to get away from the thread, but he was retired from threadfighting and had no firestone, and he was simply too old to fly out of the way in time. The dragon creeled as the thread burrowed through his wing and into his side, and Jaydren let go of N'leh when he realized the thread was going to hit them as well. There was no way he could warn N'leh, though, and rider and dragon both were hit. It was about to lash towards Jaydren as well, when a flash of brown burst into the air and blew fire at it. Jaydren gasped at the sight of Auty, and then Drall and Aita as well, fighting to keep the rest of the thread from scoring their friend.
Somehow Ivath managed to get them to the ground safely, but he sunk to his belly, exhausted and pained. Jaydren tried to grab N'leh before he fell off his dragon, but the old rider groaned in pain, wincing at every touch. "N'leh? Are you okay? N'leh!"
There was an ear-splitting creel from behind him, where Ivath had lain, and Jaydren turned just in time to see the blue disappear. His heart raced in a panic. Ivath had gone between without his rider, and that meant that N'leh was dead. And Jaydren was stuck in the middle of Threadfall with no idea where he was and no way to get home. He began to cry.

He was amazed to find he had made it through the Threadfall untouched. Jaydren had no idea where the fire lizards had gotten their claws on firestone, but it had saved his life, allowing them to eliminate any Thread that threatened him. Aita landed on the ground in front of him, and she sensed the love and gratitude he felt for them at that moment and crooned. He wondered why no dragons had come to sear this Thread, but it soon became obvious when he looked around him. The few unscorched pieces of Thread he found were lying on solid rock and gravel, shriveled and withered from starvation with no plant life to sustain them. They must be high up in the mountains, and he shivered again at the cold wind.
He took a deep breath and climbed to his feet. He wasn't going to find any help if he just sat around here. He'd have to make his way down the mountain. Maybe there would still be sweepriders in the area; maybe his fire lizards could bring their attention to him. It was worth a try.
His luck hadn't gotten any better that night. By the time the sun had set, he was dirty, exhausted, and barely standing on his feet--there were no Holds in sight and there certainly had been no sweepriders. His fire lizards flew back and forth in front of his path, but they evidently hadn't found anything either. At last he collapsed, exhausted, to sleep.

Jaydren woke up the next day warm and lying on something softer than the rocky ground he'd have expected. He opened his eyes and almost gasped. He was indoors, apparently in a sleeping chamber, as he was lying on a cot buried under half a dozen fur blankets. The glowbasket was dimly lit, casting a glow on the sparsely furnished walls and curtained door, just as the curtains were pushed aside to allow someone to enter.
She was an older woman, probably in her upper forties at least, with pale hair tied back into a messy hair, and she sighed with relief when she saw him. "Oh good, you're awake. Do you feel alright, dear? Does your head hurt? Need anything?"
He stammered a reply, "N-no, I'm fine, just...just tired, and sore. Umm, could you...tell me where I am?"
"Kote Hold. My husband found you out in the hills, unconscious. Whatever happened to you to put you in that condition? I was half afraid you wouldn't wake up."
Jaydren sighed and sat up. "I was supposed to be going to the Hatching with Solyer, but something went wrong. Ivath took us between, but there was Thread where there wasn't supposed to be any! And N'leh...Ivath, they're gone."
"Don't get up if you're not feeling up to it, dear. Here, drink something," the woman said and handed him a cup of some sort of fruit juice, which he gratefully took. He didn't notice at first the way her brow was furrowed in confusion or the slight frown on her face. "Now you said you were going to a Hatching? The Senior Queen's just laid her clutch, or so I heard, and it shouldn't hatch for over a month. And our charts say that Thread is still falling just the way it's supposed to. Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yes!" He was insistant, and perhaps a little annoyed that she didn't seem to believe him.
The woman still looked a little skeptical. "My cousin's a greenrider at High Reaches, so I'm quite sure I've got my facts straight. What Hold do you come from, lad?"
High Reaches? "Sedona, Ma'am."
Now she was plainly surprised. "That's on the Southern Continent, isn't it? That's clear on the other side of the world! No wonder you're confused! Now what Weyr were you heading to?"
He told her, and her reaction was...odd. Her eyes narrowed, and she placed a hand on his forehead as if he were fevered. "Are you sure you're alright? Your head might have gotten jostled while you were out there. Do you feel sick or dizzy?"
Jaydren knocked her hand away. "I'm fine! Do you know someone who could take me there? Solyer's probably worried sick."
The Holder woman sighed and glanced at him worriedly. "Son, that Weyr was abandoned 200 turns ago."

Emavi, the Holder woman who found Jaydren, soon proved to be a very caring, if overbearing, person who tended to hover over him like a queen dragon with her clutch, until she was convinced that he was recovered from his ordeal. She also made quite a show of doting on the fire lizards, particularly Aita, which they were all pleased with. Jaydren was unsurprised to find that her children were all well-grown with families of their own, and he suspected she missed having someone to care for.
Indeed, she and her husband would have been more than willing to foster him, but Jaydren was still trying to get used to the idea that he was 200 turns into the future, and more than anything, he wished for something familiar. That's why he decided he would go back to the Weaver Crafthall and become an apprentice--again.
They were sad to see him go, but the Holders wished him luck and promised to write him when they got the chance, and Jaydren in turn promised to send them an egg or two from Aita's next clutch. Once he arrived at the Hall, it was not hard to convince the Masters to apprentice him--though they had no way of knowing it, he already had two years' experience at it, and it proved more of a challenge to downplay his knowledge to fit in with the other junior apprentices.

Four turns later

"This dress will be ready in time for the gather, won't it?" Issora asked for what must have been the fifth time at least, causing Jaydren to roll his eyes. She couldn't see it anyway, since he was working behind her.
"Yes, it will be, as Master Gorove assured you. Now hold still and keep your arms out," Jaydren told her through the spare pin held between his teeth. He finished adjusting the cloth, and once he was sure all the measurements were correct, he sighed and stood up. "All right, that should do it. You can take the dress off now, Issora."
She spun around, cocking one eyebrow accusingly, but her smile was playful. "Do we really have time for that right now, Jaydren?"
She was delighted to make him blush. "You know what I mean. We should be able to finish the adjustments now." He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned toward her ear. "Don't worry, you'll look lovely."
She sniffed haughtily. "I'd better; with the renowned Master Gorove and his favorite apprentice making it, I'd be disappointed if it was anything less than stunning."
"And it'll look even more stunning on the floor." She gasped and lightly slapped him, but he was grinning. It was her turn to blush now.
"You're incorrigible!" But she gave him a quick kiss anyway before leaving.

Jaydren's Master was less than pleased when Lady Issora's session was over, but that was hardly anything new. Mastertailor Gorove disliked anything that took Jaydren's attention away from his craft, and he could see that the Lord Holder's youngest daughter was definitely one of those things. The gather was another.
"Today's the gather day," Jaydren said by way of greeting.
The Mastertailor grunted in reply. "So it is. I suppose there's no stopping you from going. Your work has been efficient." From Gorove, that was a high compliment. He tossed a one-mark piece at Jaydren. "Come see me later if you want your other work stamped for approval."
"I will." Not like he had much choice, if he wanted to make any marks. Jaydren suspected he could be a journeyman already, but then he wouldn't still be around the Crafthall to work for Gorove.
Between Gorove's wages and the bargain price for his custom-made clothes, he went to the gather with almost three marks to spend on Issora and himself.
Aita took her customary perch on his shoulder, and Auty had taken a particular liking to Issora, who was quite pleased to wear a fire lizard on her shoulder herself. One of the first things he did was buy a bottle of Benden wine for the two of them. (The wine's reputation had certainly not suffered in the 200 turns since his own time and cost a mark on its own.)
There was a new booth this time that Jaydren had not seen before, but when he saw what it was, he smiled. "An ink artist?" Issora asked beside him. "Is that like the thing on your back?" she asked with a slight smile at him.
Jaydren nodded and laughed. "Yes, I actually got it at a gather much like this one--or started it, at any rate. It ended up taking several sevendays to finish. If I'd known that, I may not have agreed to it."
She grinned. "I always wanted to ask. Why fire lizards?"
Jaydren smiled, remembering the ink artist asking the same thing when he was given the image to tattoo--Jaydren's three fire lizards in flight, forming a circle. "They saved my life," he said simply.
Issora raised an eyebrow. "I shall have to hear that story sometime."
He chuckled softly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
She just gave a sidelong glance and a frown. She perked up quickly, once she heard the harpers start playing. "The music's starting. Let's dance, Jaydren!"
He groaned. He hated dancing. "Why don't we leave that until later," he asked hopefully.
"You'll just say you're too tired." Well, yeah, that was what he had been planning...
He was rescued by the trio of people who had just approached them. The oldest of them smiled. "Hello! Can you spare a few moments to talk to us?" Jaydren ran his eyes over the trio, paying attention to their clothes by sheer habit, and it didn't take him long at all to realize they were all riders.
"You're dragonriders?" he said out loud, curious to know what they wanted. They seemed surprised that he'd figured it out so fast. "I'm weavercraft, I'm supposed to pay attention to things like shoulderknots," he explained.
"Oh, well, your craft does you well, then," The first man said. He extended a hand for Jaydren and Issora to shake. "My name's M'len, rider of Blue Jesioth." He had short, dark hair and striking amber eyes. The other riders introduced themselves similarly--A dark-haired man with a green dragon, named Tayenden and Aheya, another greenrider.
"Jaydren, weavercraft apprentice," Jaydren replied, and Issora introduced herself.
"So, you're still an apprentice?" M'len asked, causing Issora to laugh.
"Only because Master Gorove doesn't want to let him journey." Issora smiled at him as he ran a hand through his hair sheepishly.
"That might make things easier, actually."
"Eh?" Jaydren's brow furrowed in confusion.
"We're here on Search," Tayenden explained. "Gathers make a good excuse to meet people. But all of our dragons feel that you would make a good candidate for the clutch."
Jaydren was rendered speechless, though Issora was not. "Of course you can't, Jaydren! You're too talented a weaver, you could make a Mastercrafter easily."
Jaydren wasn't thinking of any of that, however. His head was filled with one thought. Candidates Impressed dragons. And dragons could go between. He could go home.
"Yes!" His eagerness made it nearly a shout, overriding Issora's startled "What?"
"Yes, I accept the Search," he repeated firmly.
"Jaydren!"
"Well, okay then. We'll be leaving after the gather. You should haveplenty of time to put your affairs in order."
Issora followed at his heels as Jaydren walked away. "How could you do that?" she demanded.
He blinked. "I didn't think I could be Searched. I never even thought about it. This...it changes everything. I'm sorry, Issora."
She blinked back tears. "What about me?"
He spun around. "I'm sure your father can make you a far better match than an apprentice weaver. He probably would never have accepted it anyway. I never expected this would last forever, and I didn't think you did either. I'm sorry."
"Well--I didn't think that far ahead." Jaydren noticed her tears had disappeared; her mouth set in a determined frown. "I wish you luck, weaver Jaydren, but don't try to call on me again." Oh yes, she was definitely angrier than she let on as she stalked off into the gather crowds, but he didn't think it would take her long to get over it.
He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "You're a fool, Jaydren," he muttered.

Fool or not, he showed up later that day with his (very few) personal possessions and his three fire lizards, staring at the first dragon he had seen up close in four years. He ignored the hand M'len held out to him, and climbed onto Jesioth's back on his own this time. For a moment, he felt like a boy again, riding on a dragon. He hoped it wouldn't end the same way this time, but for the first time since he had found himself outside Kote Hold, he had hope.