Kayta gulped as Lysith bugled her fury from the weyrbowl. "It's been awhile."

"Nearly a turn." The former Weyrleader stepped closer. He looked gaunt, his ragged clothing hanging on his thin frame, and his eyes burned with a feverish intensity. "I've been waiting for this moment for a long time."

"Oh?" She stalled. She eyed the opening behind him, wondering if she could dart past. The gap was too small though, and she didn't doubt that he would grab her the moment she tried it. Why oh why hadn't she sent someone else? "You could have returned at any time."

"And have my dragon taken from me? No."

"You know as well as I that no one could separate you from Calaranth."

"Lies. That machine has taught them how. I know it. I heard the whispers of people who can hear all the dragons. That bitch Weyrwoman of theirs is one of them. They would have taken him from me and given him to some whelp who doesn't deserve him."

"I would never let them do that to you or to him."

"More lies. You never cared for me or him. You hated me the moment you laid eyes on me. You never cared for any of our dragons or this Weyr." He licked his lips, his skin sallow in the light of the glows. "All you cared about is bedding that brownrider."

It was tempting to ease back from him. With every step he took closer to her, it took everything in her power not to run away – to run deeper into the caverns. But doing so would be a death sentence, for her, Lysith, the eggs she carried and Nelladwyn. She forced herself to stand her ground. "Now who's the one telling lies, Z'char? Who took care of the Weyr while you drank the day away? Who found supplies-"

"I had it all in hand!" Lysith bugled again, the sound echoing through the cavern as Z'char surged forward. "Everything was under control! Everything! And then you had to bring that brownrider into it. Was it worth it? Was bringing us all to ruin sharding worth it?"

She licked her lips, debating about placating him. But before she could answer him, he continued his rant. "He's an abomination! Like that brownrider who was so in love with his green. He would do anything for him. He was so desperate to keep him safe."

Kayta's thoughts ground to an abrupt halt at that. "What do you mean? Wasn't he trying to impress you?"

"You think that waste looked up to me? You think I would let a piece of trash like that anywhere near me?" He shook his head, his oily hair slapping against his cheeks as he did so. "No. I threatened him. I told him that if he didn't solve our problem, then I would get rid of that whiny excuse for a dragon man that shared his bed."

"Oh, Faranth." She pressed a hand against her lips. Here she had doubted M'taren for so long, but he had only done it because he wanted to keep N'nyal safe.

Z'char continued his rant, oblivious to what she had whispered. "That's why that fireball came so close, to warn the others about you! To wipe you all away!"

He might very well get his wish. Kayta eyed the opening one more, wondering how much more time she had. N'kar had never given her a time on when the deadly wave would arrive, but that was probably because he thought she would be well out of harms way by the time it did. She turned her attention back to the mad bronzerider in front of her. He had always cared more about his own skin than anyone or anything else. Perhaps she could use that against him.

"You're right you know. N'kar is half the man you are." That brought him up short. He stumbled, both physically and verbally, so she pressed on. "I always enjoyed it when Calaranth flew Lysith. Her clutches with him were always large and filled with bronzes. And you were so powerful. I always wished you had shared my bed more. I heard how highly the lower caverns women spoke of you."

He blinked at her, visibly confused. "They did? You did?"

"Oh yes. They talked about what an honor it was to lay with you." Kayta continued to lie. She took a deep breath, stepping closer. "If you come back with me, they might imprison you for a short time. But I know you, Z'char. You're so smart, I'm sure you'll escape in no time. Then we can run away together and start anew – far far away from here… from them."

"Yes..." He murmured, clearly picturing them running off together like she described. "Yes!"

"But we must leave now. That fireball you saw? It landed near the East Islands. A great wave is coming towards us and it'll wash away everything, including us, if we don't move now!"

Z'char's eyes focused on her once more. "No."

Now it was her turn to be confused. Not that she had actually meant anything she said, but it seemed like he had been falling for it. "No?"

"More and more lies. How they spill from your lips like wine. Is that how you got him? With lies?" He pulled a knife from his belt. "I know what will make you stop once and for all."

Despite his threat, Lysith had gone oddly silent. It comes.

The wave? Kayta asked, closing her eyes, bracing herself to either be swept away by cold water or to be stabbed by the steel blade that Z'char was now brandishing at her.

Yes. When I say run, run.

Her eyes snapped open at that. Behind the mad Weyrleader, a new shadow loomed. It brought a rock down on the man's head right as a little blue firelizard launched himself at his face. The man fell to his knees with a cry, one hand clutching the back of his head while the other tried to fend off the blue blur.

"Run!" Both Nelladwyn and Lysith shouted at the same time. Kayta did as commanded, pushing past the stunned bronzerider and grabbing the boy's hand. They bolted towards the queen dragon, climbing up onto her forearm and grabbing onto the straps. She didn't wait for them to get settled or strap in, instead she jumped skyward, putting much needed distance between them and the ground.

Z'char stumbled out of the cave, waving one fist in the sky at them and screaming obscenities. A bronze dragon flew over the ridge, his wings skimming the stones as he tried to reach his rider in time. It was too late though, the sea, which had pulled out nearly to the reef, surged forward, smashing both bodies against the cliffs before dragging them out into the ocean.

I must land. Lysith spoke once she had finished mourning the loss of her former mate.

Her announcement surprised Kayta. Are you injured?

No.

Then let's return to the camp.

No. The dragon touched down on the weyr bowl once more, but where there had been dry sand before, now there was only muck. It came up to her ankles as she waddled along. I must lay my eggs.

This is not a good place for them! The hatching grounds had probably been washed away by the tsunami. Or at the very least they were covered in debris. We need to head back. Surely there was a warm sandy stretch somewhere near the camp.

Lysith was insistent, No. This is our home. I will lay them here.

At the very least tell Elanth where we are first.

The gold did not reply. She was too focused on her goal, her hide rippling under her rider's touch as the urge to lay overtook her. The Weyrwoman sighed, closing her eyes. Why couldn't fate have given them one more day? Or two?

A fair of wild firelizards cavorted in the air around them, humming their delight as they approached what was left of the hatching grounds. To Kayta's surprise, it was not as destroyed as the rest of the Weyr. There was some pieces of wood that had been left behind, and the sand was mostly damp, but a third was still usable. It appeared that the way the cliffs curved around the grounds had protected it from the worst of the tsunami and the ancient heating running underneath the sands was already hard at work drying the rest out.

Lysith dropped them off near the entrance, then waddled her way over to the driest section. She pushed the debris and damp sand out of the way, creating a wallow to lay her eggs in, pausing only to trumpet a welcome to Elanth when her mate came out of between overhead.

Kayta grimaced as the brown dragon deposited his rider on the stands a short distance away – she was in for it now. And rightfully so. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have-"

The rest of her apology was forgotten as N'kar swept her into a tight hug. "I'm just glad you're okay." He reached out and pulled Nelladwyn into the embrace. "That you're both okay."

Embarrassed to be caught up in such an emotional display, his son quickly broke away. "Look! An egg!"

They turned to find that he was right; a wet, leathery egg had been laid by Lysith while Elanth watched from the cliffs above. The queen dragon quickly nosed it onto the driest spot.

"Is it a queen?" Nelladwyn asked.

"No," N'kar shook his head, but his smile was broad. "A brown I'd wager."

"Or it could be a bronze." Kayta argued, wrapping an arm around his back. She sombered at the thought of poor Calaranth crashed against the rocks. "That would be fitting, if it was."

"A good sign." N'kar agreed, pressing a kiss against the crown of her head. "And a good start to our first clutch."

"Their first clutch." She corrected him, watching as Nelladwyn eased his way closer and closer until he was right across from Lysith. He crouched, watching intently as she laid another egg and moved it into position.

"And the first of many, many more to come."

In the end, Lysith's clutch contained twenty three eggs – which everyone agreed was a respectable size for such a small Queen, and for a brown and gold pairing too. There was no queen egg, but at least two eggs that might be bronzes, or, at the very least, extremely large browns. The riders of the Weyr did not want to bet on that, though there were several wagers on the so called lesser colors. The last one that Kayta heard was that nearly have the clutch would be green, and a quarter to a third blue. Which would be welcome news indeed if it turned out to be true; as much as the weyr brats might talk about wanting a bronze or brown, the Weyr needed more blues and greens to fill out its ranks.

The Weyr was rebuilt as the eggs hardened on the sands. The candidates - who were a good mix of weyrbred, holders, and crafters - happily cleared away the debris that had been swept ashore by the water. They were supervised by a grumpy Lysith, who barely tolerated their presence near her precious clutch. The storage caverns were sorted, the kitchens cleaned, and new tables and benches were constructed for the dining cavern.

The healers were moved closer to the field were injured dragons were brought during falls, and they were given their own storage cavern to keep their goods in. New weyrs were constructed and arranged in neat lines along the beach, and some were even carved out of the cliff face.

"We don't have that many dragons!" Kayta exclaimed when N'kar told her.

"I know, I know." He laughed, leaning back on the stands next to her. "But there's no need to watch our numbers like before, and we have a few more years of thread left. If Lysith rises every six months to a turn like some of the other queens do, I'm sure they'll be full in no time."

"And then the holders will really riot." She grumbled. "They wont want to be beholden to so many, especially after everything that's happened."

"Oh, there's plans for that." He reassured her. "Pern will always need it's dragons."

The weyrwomans quarters had been moved closer towards the hatching grounds, so Kayta could sleep in her new bed at night if she wanted to. Instead she chose to sleep in the stands. Every night, N'kar would join her, and they would stretch out under the sky watching the stars over head. While they did spy a few shooting stars, none were as large as the comet that had caused so much destruction.

And when the eggs finally hatched, they both stood proudly by their dragons as the dragonets tumbled out of their shells and chose their riders from among the presented candidates. The holders and crafters watched in awe as the dragons hummed and their children called out their new life partners names. Nelladwyn was one of the first, impressing a fine looking brown like his father while one of his foster siblings, a girl, impressed a green.

Llydwen and her husband were in attendance, and while Kayta questioned the wisdom of such a choice after everything that the woman had been through – indeed, the poor soul looked positively petrified – she mustered a smile and a kiss for her son and introduced him to her husband.

"Did you make that happen?" Kayta asked her Werymate later, after the weyrlings were settled in their barracks and the party had finally wound down.

N'kar shook his head. "No, she wanted to come. She was a little… hesitant, but once she heard that Z'char was gone… Well, they're thinking about coming back now."

"We'll need more holders who know what they're doing." Quite a few actually, as a number of them had decided to stay on at Southern rather than return to the islands. "There's a smaller one overlooking a beach on the Northernmost island. It hasn't been used in a few turns but it should still be in good shape."

He smiled at that. "Oh it is. We found some things hidden in one of it's rooms, when I took them to inspect it."

"Oh?"

His grin got even bigger. "Green paint, and runners knots."

"I thought I hid those."

"Not well enough." The brownrider pulled them out of his pocket and handed them to her.

Kayta ran them through her hands. "Do you ever regret bumping into me that day?"

"No. My life would have been easier, but I'd rather have you, my dear runner, and your green that is not a green."

She kissed him after that, climbing onto his lap as she did so, and the runner's knots and all talk of green paint was soon forgotten.

Fin.