A dark lavender gargoyle worked diligently at making seven pendants wearable in the wee hours of the morning at Ryslen. In front of her was a talisman of sorts that looked like a small shield. It was black with gold trim and a golden fiery looking bird in the middle of it. On the outside edge of the shield, that was the size of the gargoyle’s own clawed hands, were seven different gems, each one matching one of the seven gems that was to make up seven pendants; There was jade, black diamond, opal, tiger’s eye, sapphire, ruby, and onyx.

“Come on, go through you little devil,” the female growled through her short monkey like mouth that was actually a beak of sorts. She rustled her outer set of duo wings irritably as she tried to thread a piece of leather through a small hole in the blue sapphire she was going to make into a pendant. A knock on the door to the room like cavern she was using caused the beaked female to nearly drop the gem as she threw out her inner set of wings as she saved it from escaping her fingers.

“Sorry, Pleiades, didn’t mean to make you drop that,” a female voice winced in the doorway. The red haired gargoyle turned to the door to find a powder blue female with blond hair looking back at her sheepishly.

“I wasn’t expecting visitors, Jilly,” Pleiades replied in her soft way, “But I could use the company, the rest of the clan seems to be busy enough as is with all the new things to learn about this place…”

“Pern,” Jilly reminded her friend.

“Ah yes,” Pleiades replied once again trying to thread the gem in her hands. She smiled brightly as the leather finally went through and she centered the sapphire before tying the to ends of the piece of leather together.

“How goes the project,” Jilly asked seriously though her two upper fangs made her look a bit comical if not unserious as well.

“I’ve got all the supplies that I need,” Pleiades replied as she threaded the ruby onto a different piece of leather with much more ease than the sapphire, “I only have to get these gems on their threads and then start the ceremony… I think I’ve got it down but they won’t be ready for a few night yet.”

“I know you can do it,” Jilly replied with a winning smile, “you’ve been a great sorceress as long as I’ve known you.”

“I hadn’t quite made it to being recognized as a powerful one back where I came from,” Pleiades replied humbly, not quite sure that her spells she’d been able to cast were so good as to be praised by the Leader of the Pern Clan.

“What matters is that you are the best in our clan and that you can do this,” Jilly replied trying to instill confidence in the other female.

“I’ve never tried it before though,” Pleiades reminded her with a dry smile, “I only saw how the Sun Amulet was made and how the spell was preformed to make those four gems keep the gargoyle wearer of them awake during the day. I only have that much knowledge of the ritual.”

“I believe in you, Pleiades,” Jilly replied and then seemed to try to force her friend to believe her further, “Aside from that, you were being taught by the sorcerer who did the spell, I’m sure he wouldn’t have trained you himself if he didn’t think you could do any spell he would be willing to show you.”

“Either way I hope this hatching doesn’t happen during the next few days when the sun is up,” Pleiades replied firmly, “It would not be very good for a dragon to hatch while you’re in stone sleep and want you. They might not realize what was going on and go hysterical, possibly kill themselves because they don’t know what’s happening.”

“That would be bad,” Jilly replied solemnly, she knew more about dragons that Pleiades and she was up for impressing in this huge clutch Ryslen was calling a Flurry clutch, “They shouldn’t react that way but then again dragons are more dependent on their bonds than fire lizards… let’s just hope it doesn’t happen… I would say try to hurry but…”

“Magic should never be hurried,” Pleiades replied very seriously, “Hurrying magic only makes it more likely to make mistakes and making mistakes in magic can be harmful even deadly.”

“As you’ve pounded into each and every one of the clan’s heads,” Jilly replied with a wink, “I’ll leave you to your work then. Sunrise is in about an hour so don’t be too long. I’ll be on the sands if you need me.”

“Sleeping there again, Leader?” Pleiades kidded.

“Yes,” Jilly replied cheerfully, “Better to be prepared for a hatching to begin going on around me while I sleep than to be on the parapets far away from the grounds. If I was up there and a dragon wanted me the hatchling would have a shardin’ time trying to get at me. Sleep well today, my friend.” With that Jilly left. Pleiades chuckled at the female.

Up until a few weeks back, Jilly had been twenty years her junior. With an unexpected trip to the past by herself, the blue female had been lost twenty years in the past. So despite the fact that when she disappeared the day before she had been eighteen years old, the equivalent of a nine year old human, she had appeared once again before them the next night as a thirty eight year old, the equivalent of a nineteen year old human. With a bit of delegation the female had been voted by the original leaders to lead the clan on this new world at the same point as Jilly was searched. That was when Pleiades had stepped forward and made her offer to make the pendants and talisman.

“Now I’ve got to get this all working before that hatching if it’s in the daylight hours,” Pleiades thought aloud to herself. She threaded the last five gems, each on their own leather strap. She then picked up the claw-sized shield. Other than the seven gems on it, it looked exactly like the object that had brought the former Timewalker Clan, now Pern Clan, to Pern. Or at least it looked like the objects that had, except instead of black they were other colors and some of them instead of having gold had silver on them. Either way, this black one had become the emblem of their clan now. The one that was the same coloring was the one that made them get stuck on Pern. Ironic that we would make it the symbol for the Pern Clan, the lavender gargoyle chuckled ruefully as she buffed the shield causing it to shine brightly in her claw.

“How could a thing that looks as pretty as you cause so much trouble for one clan,” Pleiades sighed shaking her head. She grinned as one of the light sources in the room, something the Pernese had called a glow, caused the pendants and talisman to shine. The grin was frozen on her face as outside, Rukbat rose in the East and turned all gargoyles to stone for their day’s sleep.

To the stone statues that stood upon the parapets of Ryslen the day was uneventful. Even the two who had not made it, either by choose or by accident, to the usual roost felt nothing of the hustle and bustle that came into full force a few hours before sunset. When Rukbat finally set, the Pern Clan burst from their stone shells with the growls and roars that was the usual with a gargoyle waking from their stone sleep. Pleiades was no exception to this fact. As she was stretching and dusting off some stray shards of stone skin the lavender red head heard voices in the passageway outside.

“They’re nearly all hatched now,” one voice was saying excitably.

“We best get down there then to help the new riders,” another voice replied huffing, slightly out of breath though they still ran, “Bet J’lenn’s still simmering in his seat.”

“He has no right to criticize these dragons or the non-humans that are standing at this clutch,” The first voice replied, “Though I’m not to sure about these gar-gool things. Stone by day, flesh at night, doesn’t seem right, why would a dragon want to impress a being that’s stone for half their life.”

Pleiades panicked at the beginning of the conversation that had been going on. She looked down at the pendants and talisman. I didn’t get them done in time! With a growl, Pleiades dashed out of the room startling the two young men who had been talking with her sudden appearance.

Instead of running upright she took to running on all fours eating up the distance to the hatching grounds much quicker than she would have on two legs. She was at the entrance to Ryslen’s famous red sands within five minutes. Taking a quick look around she found that Jilly was nowhere to be seen. A foxy female, whom Pleiades remembered vaguely as being called Red, smiled softly at her despite the fact that the man next to her scowled heavily at the sight of her.

“If you’re looking for the female who leads your clan,” Red addressed her pleasantly, “she’s already impressed. You should find her with all the other Flurry dragons.”

“She impressed?” Pleiades asked almost shocked at the news.

“Yes, a very lovely sunset winged silver,” Red smiled and behind her the man grunted and simmered, “She hatched just before sunset herself and waited right at the female’s feet.”

“That’s good to hear, thank you very much!” Pleiades practically chirped with how proud she was that Jilly had impressed. Capping her double set of wings, the beaked gargoyle politely excused herself as she made her way towards where the last of the Flurry candidates turned riders seemed to be going. It was not hard to find where Jilly had gone as the majority of the clan was already congratulating the clan leader on her impression.

A glint of something silver like caught the lavender gargoyle’s eyes and she blinked a few times as she saw the silver hatchling that Jilly had impressed. It was true, the silver did have wings that would remind nearly anyone of a sunset. A perfect match for one who wished to always see the sun but only saw the sky before it rose and the sky after it set, Pleiades thought with a small grin. Jilly’s features suddenly turned dangerous causing the red head to wince as she thought about her failure to produce the pendants and Phoenix Gate Sun Amulet. Her red toned outer wings drooped from her shoulders some at this causing the electric blue backs of her inner set of wings to show a bit more than they had, at the same time the Mayan gargoyle looked at her clawed feet.

The silver dragon cocked her crestless head towards the red haired gargoyle and blinked three sets of eyelids at her before looking at Jilly. The powder blue gargoyle looked up and spotted the gargoyle sorceress and waved the rest of the clan away. She wishes to talk to you, a voice sounded in Pleiades’ head causing her to look up in surprise, her duo wings snapping into an upright position in the same moment. The goofy smile that she found looking at her from her clan leader’s face told her that Jilly’s dragon had been the one to talk to her. She carefully relaxed her electric blue set of wings on her shoulders yet left her red and pink set open and walked up to the powder blue gargoyle.

“Konjakuth tells me you seem down about something,” Jilly greeted her and waved her to a seat that had been vacated in a hurry moments earlier by a silver toned gargoyle with a Mohawk. Pleiades looked down at the sunset winged dragon who, instead of looking back at her, opened her mouth and Jilly placed a few chunks of fresh meat into the hatchling’s mouth.

“How’d she know?” the purple toned gargoyle asked finally turning her hazel eyes towards the light green eyed blond. Jilly smiled as if it was her first time acting like an adult and telling a child something that was common knowledge.

“Dragons can talk with who they choose,” Jilly smiled, “And some are sensitive enough to pick up on other people, whether they are a rider or not… They can also listen to your thoughts if they choose to whether you want them to or not.” Pleiades blushed and eyed the dragon who was not yet an hour old, You’re going to be trouble. You have no idea, the silver replied without looking and instead continued to eat.

“So what did she tell you,” Pleiades asked in her soft way.

“Nothing really,” Jilly replied rubbing Konjakuth’s eye ridge lovingly, “she just seemed to think you needed to say something… not sure what though.” Jilly eyed her dragon who seemed to make some comment that caused her to raise an eye ridge before continuing on, “So what has you so down? I thought you’d be happy to hear that a gargoyle had impressed a dragon.”

“Oh, I am,” Pleiades insisted, “congratulations on impressing to… forgive me I don’t remember what you said her name is.”

“She calls herself Konjakuth,” Jilly smiled.

“Konjakuth…? All dragons on Pern name themselves with T H at the end right?” Pleiades replied, now side tracked by the hatchlings name. Jilly nodded and the lavender gargoyle continued on, “Doesn’t konjaku mean ‘past and present’ in Japanese?”

“I knew her name seemed familiar,” Jilly smiled and kissed the dragon on her snout, “It fits doesn’t it, what with our clan.”

“Yes it does,” Pleiades smiled and then remembered what she had been so worried about, “I’m really sorry that I didn’t get the pendants done in time. I could have jeopardized Konjakuth and your own life.”

“That’s what you were worried about?” Jilly replied looking shocked, “I’m not disappointed if that’s what you think,” she paused as her eyes glazed over for a moment, “and Konjakuth doesn’t blame you. If she’d hatched first in the hatching she would have waited till I woke up.”

“But what if she’d hatched hours ago?” Pleiades started to plead her case, “Who would have feed her, they say they need to be feed right away.”

“True,” Jilly replied thoughtfully, “but Weyrwoman Jeyann said she would have detailed someone to feed Konjakuth if she had hatched while I slept.”

“What if they had refused,” Pleiades pointed out, “it’s not like everybody’s as flexible as the Weyrleaders. People can refuse just because of who we are, even if it is the fate of a dragon that is being decided.”

“You really did worry about this didn’t you?” Jilly frowned in deep concern for the beaked gargoyle, Pleiades nodded solemnly, “You make a valid point as well… but then that is the reason why we should continue the work on the Sun Amulet and pendants, right?”

“Exactly,” the violet gargoyle sighed with relief, the Pern Clan leader did understand her thoughts on the subject, “I expect that there will be others of us who will decide to try impressing as well so I should finish them off… the clan may be split up at times though so we might only want to send our brothers and sisters out a few at a time so there is at least one pendant at each place of impression.”

“For one who is not one of the former clan leaders you hold good council, Pleiades,” Jilly praised causing the dark lavender gargoyle to blush again, “How long do you think it will take you to complete the spell that will cause the amulet to make the wearers of the pendants stay awake during the day?”

“Two, three days,” Pleiades thoughtfully stoked her beak, “a week at most.”

“A sevenday, alright,” Jilly nodded and then tilted her head at the red head, “How will you know that it worked, the elders back in Camelot always said that magic always has a price even more when the spell may have been preformed wrong… not like you’d do that.”

“Yeah,” Pleiades replied almost so quietly that the clan leader had to tilt her head more closely towards her, “I’m not sure what would happen if things went wrong. So with your permission I’ll try it first, that way only one gargoyle gets harmed if I made a mistake… I’d suggest Krag as a test subject but if it does work who knows what he’d do during the day… he’s bad enough at night.”

“No kidding,” Jilly replied readjusting her skirt unconsciously at the thought of the silver male, “and if something goes wrong you’ll be the only one in the clan with enough knowledge in that area to fix it.”

“Hmm, maybe,” Pleiades replied humbly and cracked a dry smile, “If you don’t find me the night after I test them out you’ll probably know that they didn’t work and well, I might not be around to tell you what went wrong.”

“Don’t speak like that,” Jilly chided the Mayan gargoyle, who wiggled the single claw on each of her outer wings in a sheepish expression while her duo claw tipped wings that rested on her shoulders fidgeted in her embarrassment, “Aside from that, what if you go exploring during the day, we might not see you till you get back after that.”

“I guess that is true,” Pleiades replied, she then became very determined “I would like to get to work on this right away… I’d like to perform the spell in a place where I will not be disturbed. I know it might be dangerous but I think I will find a cave outside the Weyr to finish my work.” Jilly nodded her understanding.

“It might be for the better in your case,” Jilly replied, “nothing to distract your work so you’re sure you’ve preformed everything correctly. If you are going to do this though, I’d suggest you go to the Headwoman and ask for some supplies for the next sevenday; it will save you from having to search for your own food or come back here when you’re hungry, either way that would disrupt your work, right?”

“You are very right, Jill,” Pleiades replied getting up, feeling much better than she had at the beginning of their conversation, “I’ll get to work on this straight away… You’ll inform the rest of the clan for me?”

“Yes,” the powder blue female chuckled, “and if you need anything at all while you’re up there, just try to talk to Konjakuth with your mind, or even Seafrost, they should be able to hear you and get the message to me.”

“Thank you,” Pleiades replied in her soft, calm way, “I will see you in a week then.” After patting the silver Konjakuth on the head, the dark lavender gargoyle walked off in search of the Headwoman to help her pack her things for the short time that she would play a hermit.

Pleiades spoke an ancient spell as she sprinkled a blue powder over the Phoenix Gate like Sun Amulet and the seven matching jewel pendants five days later. Her hazel eyes glinted with the light that flashed before her as she chanted a few more words before sprinkling a light green liquid over the eight objects. With a flash of yellow smoke, the lavender gargoyle jumped back coughing. Nearly forgot that happened at the end, she commented to herself while plugging her nostrils and fanned her double set of wings so that the smoke would escape to outside the cave. When the smoke was finally cleared from the cave, the beaked gargoyle approached the make shift alter that the amulet and pendants had been on for the past few days.

“They should be ready soon,” she commented softly as the eight objects seemed to give off a red glow, as if they had just come out of a fire. Pleiades could only look on in awe at the magic that she had preformed, it had taken a lot out of her over the past few nights and she was tired. But I have to test them right away, even if I am tired. When the glow softly died away the lavender gargoyle gently touched each item, mouthing a simple blessing on each. She then gathered the items and examined each one. They all seemed to have come out of the ordeal in great shape.

Pleiades licked her lips as she picked out the pendant she had decided to test out on herself. She carefully slipped the jade pendent over her head. She didn’t feel any different. She tilted he head and tried to look at the pendant but had to pick it up and turn it to the side so she might get a glimpse because though her beak was short it was not short enough to be able to see the little green object.

“Did it really work?” Pleiades questioned out loud, “I didn’t tell Jilly that I didn’t stay long enough to find out the side effects of this spell. I hope it’s nothing serious,” she looked up at the familiar feeling of dawn coming, “but I guess I’ll find out if it works soon enough.”

Pleiades quietly made her way to the mouth of the cave that faced east. She could already see the red on the horizon that told of the coming dawn. The lavender gargoyle gave a shaky sigh and sat down on the ledge he legs dangling over the edge as she watched and waited for what ever would happen. If the spells wrong the worst thing that can happen is that I will some how kill myself with it… otherwise it could always just not work and I’ll only sleep in stone again, she thought as she waited. The sky was starting to turn a deeper red in one area as she watched and slowly Rukbat started to rise. Pleiades’ jaw dropped, the sun was only partly up but she was still awake. No gargoyle really saw even a sliver of the sun unless some powerful magic was involved; yet here she was seeing the sunrise. The morning had broken and she was still flesh and not stone.

“I-i-it worked,” she whispered as she got up, “It worked!” her voice rang off the mountain range. With a victorious whoop, the duo winged gargoyle leapt from her perch and glided on the early morning air currents. She felt the sun warm on her skin, despite how low it was still in the sky. She then started to evaluate how she felt.

“I didn’t feel any magical tingle or anything when the sun rose,” Pleiades whispered happily to herself, “Quite the thing for such a spell… perhaps there isn’t side effect to this spell after all. I should show Jilly, she has always wished to see the sun!” With that thought the dark lavender gargoyle glided back towards Ryslen. She waved happily at the gargoyles standing on the parapets as she approached only seconds later remembering that they were all asleep. It’s almost unnerving to see the clan in stone while I still can glide about, she thought a bit coyly as she winged her way down into the courtyard bellow.

There were a few yelps from early risers at Ryslen at the sight of the gargoyle still being awake. Pleiades placed her wings in her usual way, inner wings resting on her shoulders while the outer wings stayed up, and nodded a good morning to those she met.

“What are you doing awake?!?!” an outraged voice huffed out at Pleiades. She turned to find herself looking at a not so young dragonrider, a blue rider by the threads woven into his knots. She’d seen him before but could not place his name, all she could remember is that he was not happy with anything not ordinary in the Weyr.

“I’m testing out these,” she replied a bit meekly and pointed at the pendants and Sun Amulet, “they’re to keep a few of the clan members awake during the day… they seem to work very well.”

“Great, now I have to deal with them while I’m awa…” the blue rider scowled but was cut short as the foxy female, Red came up beside him.

“J’lenn, you shouldn’t be so rude,” Red chided him and J’lenn scowled in reply, “she is in a way like me, and like how our daughter will be.” Pleiades blinked at this, J’lenn’s referred to as the most hidebound of the Weyr… and he’s having a child with Red?

“Don’t mind my him,” Red smiled at her, “he doesn’t get used to things at all well. But he’ll have to remember to do so now.” Pleiades had to resist snickering at the look the foxy woman gave the blue rider, J’lenn scowled right back.

“Could you tell me where the Flurry clutch riders can be found,” Pleiades asked as a way to stop herself from possibly acting rude. Red nodded and pointed towards at set of weyrs near the ground that some young human and human like creatures were exiting with young dragons in tow. Giving a wave in thanks the dark lavender gargoyle walked towards the new riders. When she finally reached them she decided to talk with the one who looked like he knew what was going on. Biting her lip, she approached the man and questioned him about where she could find the clan leader and her dragon.

“In that weyr, Jilly’s in stone so you should find Konjakuth right next to her with no problem,” he replied while looking at her oddly, “Uh, shouldn’t you be… well, stone too?”

“Yeah,” the lavender gargoyle replied shyly and fingered her pendant, “But I just made a few things that should be able to keep a few gargoyles awake during the day… I was going to try it out on Jilly now actually.”

“Then she’ll be awake during the day as well as night? Forever?” the man asked, his eyes wide at the prospect.

“During the day, yes. Forever, no,” Pleiades replied with a small smile, “Only the pendant wearers will stay awake during the day… if they don’t have them on they will revert to stone sleep during the day.” The rider nodded yet still looked confused.

“If you do wake her,” he told her as she started to enter the cave, “have her and Konjakuth come out for Weyrling Training Classes.”

“If it works I’ll be sure to tell her,” Pleiades smiled and then entered the cave. A few glows were opened in the weyrling barracks and like the rider had said, Jilly and Konjakuth were easy to pick out. The statue Jilly was crouched next to a small stone couch. Upon the couch was the sunset winged silver dragon that had chosen her only a few nights earlier. Both creatures looked peaceful as they were so the lavender gargoyle was reluctant to wake Jilly knowing that both would be awake then.

So you’ve finished it? a voice echoed in the beaked gargoyle’s head. Pleiades looked down to find Konjakuth looking up at her with one eye. What are you waiting for, place it on Jill. She’s been waiting so long.

“It’s only been a few days,” Pleiades frowned. Since you have been gone, yet she has been waiting to see the sun her whole life. Do not make her wait longer, gargoyle, Konjakuth told her with a bit of a smirk. The lavender gargoyle couldn’t help but chuckle and obey the hatchling. She carefully picked one of the pendants at random and placed the ruby around Jilly’s neck. For a moment nothing happened then the tell tale cracks of an awakening gargoyle split the stone with a feline like growl and roar Jilly burst from her stone slumber and yawned.

“Figures, right when I’m getting into a dream I wake up,” Jilly yawned, not yet realizing that Pleiades was next to her, much less that it was day and not night time outside. The light blue gargoyle stretched and started to greet Konjakuth but stopped as she spotted the lavender clawed feet of the gargoyle sorceress.

“Pleiades, you’re back!” Jilly smiled and gave her a hug in greeting.

“And you have classes now,” Pleiades winked at her. It was then that Jilly noticed that the light outside was getting brighter and not dimmer as it had been doing ever since she first woke up on Pern. The blond rushed towards the entrance. Seconds later she was heard to scream in her excitement causing Konjakuth to follow in a hurry. Pleiades followed slightly behind the silver dragon with a giggle.

“I can’t believe it,” Jilly spoke happily, looking like a hatchling. The Pern Clan leader looked down at her dragon with big puppy dog eyes, “Konjakuth, do you mind if I take a look at the sun for a few minutes? I’ll be right back.” The silver dragon nodded her head and Jilly squealed happily, sinking her claws into the nearest wall and climbed to a higher point from which she launched into the air and glided higher up. It was obvious when the female saw the sun as she gave out another yell of joy and danced in the sky for a few minutes. On the ground, Konjakuth and Pleiades watched the excitable clan leader. Not far way the Weyrling Class was distracted into looking up at their fellow Jr. Weyrling who glided circles above the former Weyrbowl. The moment ended when Konjakuth creeled up at her rider, startling Pleiades into opening both sets of her wings before settling the inner set once again on her shoulders.

You seem like a jumpy one, the hatchling commented to the red haired gargoyle who scowled playfully in reply. Oh hush, dragon. Konjakuth made no reply to the sorceress, instead she watched her rider return to the ground safely.

“Jilly, are you coming to class or not?” a male voice called as the gargoyle landed.

“Konjakuth and I are coming, D’lrik,” Jilly called back with a giggle.

“Wait, Jilly, I need to test out the other five,” Pleiades stopped the blue gargoyle in her tracks, “I guess I should wake up Okumen, Ebric, Daten, and Keikan but who should I use the last one on?”

“Find Aisugriff,” Jilly replied after a moment’s thought, “she’s the one I’ve learned the most from in my life.” Jilly rolled the ruby between her talons and smiled at the duo-winged gargoyle, “You’re a really great sorceress you know that?”

“No I’m not,” Pleiades replied humbly, “I never finished my training, I have no right to be called a sorceress.”

“But you are one,” Jilly replied, “Or you wouldn’t have been able to make these work.” Pleiades tried to argue that she wasn’t as good at the leader thought but couldn’t get a word in edge wise as the British decedent gargoyle dashed off towards her Weyrling Training Class with Konjakuth in hot pursuit. The lavender gargoyle could only chuckle in the end. Despite the fact that Jilly was as old as herself now the female still was a hatchling at heart.

Pleiades jumped back as she placed the opal pendant on the last of the gargoyles she had been told to use them on. With a roar the eagle headed Aisugriff shattered her stone skin and awoke with her eyes glowing red. Immediately four fire lizards, a white, a bronze, a blue, and a green, surrounded the blue gargoyle. She raised an eyeridge at finding five gargoyles before her that she knew had not been there when she’d fallen asleep.

“What in the name of the dragon?” Aisugriff swore and turned to find that her gargoyle beast, Blaze, was still in stone sleep.

“It seems our clan’s best sorceress has managed to perform the spell for a Sun Amulet,” the golden skinned male, Ebric, smiled setting an approving claw on the lavender female’s shoulder.

“You finished them?” Aisugriff questioned the beaked female with a sharp, happy, clap of her own eagle like beak. Pleiades nodded and the blue gargoyle looked at her pendant, “Why was I chosen to wear one?”

“Jilly’s orders,” Pleiades smiled softly feeling she had some importance that she’d never had before, “she said you were the one who influenced her the most through her life.”

“Jilly’s awake too?” Aisugriff asked and nearly leapt off the parapets to look for her cousin.

“Yes and in Weyrling Classes, Griff,” the red Okumen informed her, “she may be the clan leader but she’s also a Jr. Weyrling now. She has to take classes when she’s awake.” Next to her the two-tone Keikan scoffed through his serrated beak, he still was wary of the idea of dragons and riding them.

“Any side effects?” Aisugriff asked suddenly remembering her lessons about magic from the elders in the Camelot Clan.

“None that I’ve found as of yet,” Pleiades replied perkily, “I’ve been wearing one of the pendants the longest… it’s like wearing any other jewelry so you wouldn’t even know that your awake during the day. Only thing that warns you is your internal clock that tells you the sun’s coming up and you should be going to sleep… that’s about it.”

“You haven’t tired taking it off yet then?” the black dog-eared gargoyle, Daten, asked curiously. Pleiades shook her head.

“You woke us up with these things without finding out what the side effect is if we take them off, just great!” Keikan growled, his eyes flashing white for a moment with his quick temper.

“I didn’t think about it at the time,” Pleiades winced, “If you could help me… I’m afraid I might turn to stone before I get it out of my claws to check what happens.”

“Meaning?”

“I need one of you to take this off me so that doesn’t happen and then place it back on me,” Pleiades smiled weakly. Okumen nodded her head and approached the dark lavender gargoyle. She carefully started to slip the jade pendant off the lavender’s head. The moment the pendent was no longer around her monkey like face Pleiades felt the familiar feeling of needing to sleep and turned to stone. The quintet of pendant bearers looked a bit startled at the now stone figure, none had ever seen another gargoyle turn to stone before their very eyes.

“Sugoi,” Okumen whispered a Japanese word she had come to like using when amazed by something. The other gargoyles, even Keikan nodded in agreement, “I guess I should wake her up again so she can tell us if there were any side effects there.” With those words the former clan leader slipped the jade pendant over the stone gargoyle’s head a few moments after it had settled on her neck, hair line fractures started running across the stone surface. With a monstrous roar, Pleiades awoke. She blinked a few times and then smiled.

“Nothing wrong there,” she smiled, “How long was I out for.”

“Only a minute or so,” Daten returned the smile, his floppy dog like ears raising slightly with the smile, “It was the same reaction that Aisugriff had when she woke up.”

“And you as well,” Ebric noted to the bald gargoyle.

“Well, there’s probably only one other area that would give us the idea of what would be the back lash,” Aisugriff stated pulling on her beak thoughtfully.

“When gargoyles are supposed to be awake, at night,” Keikan finished for the gargoyle of British heritage. Aisugriff nodded.

“I’ll be the one that does it then,” Pleiades told them quietly, “If someone should feel the side effects of the spell for the first time it should be the one who preformed the spell.” The seriousness of the situation was lost upon the six Pern Clan members as the red head’s stomach let out a loud growl. Amidst fits of laughter the six gargoyles launched off the parapets and circled down to the entrance to the dinning caverns to try out the daytime meals.

The seven gargoyles sat in one of the larger weyrs that was not in use by current riders of the Weyr and watched as the sun slowly lowered in the sky. Jilly was lounging, half asleep, in a hammock. Next to her Konjakuth slept peacefully. Aisugriff sat with her back to the wall, a smile plastered on her features. On the weyrledge, Okumen sat with her legs crossed while Keikan leaned against the entrance watching the sun lower in amazement.

“I’d forgotten how it felt to stay awake for more than one night,” Daten sighed with his hands behind his head as he walked up to the ledge as the sun dipped below the parapets.

“With the Gates gone it’s understandable,” Ebric nodded, “Just a little while longer and the rest of the clan will wake up.”

“I don’t think we should tell the clan about these until we find out if there is a side effect,” Pleiades stated softly causing the other six pendant bearers to jump at her sudden speaking. The hazel eyed gargoyle gave a wiry smile, “best to not get their hopes up, and I don’t think it would be good to have them see the side effect if there is one.”

“Magic always has a side effect, big or small,” Keikan muttered but didn’t take his eyes off the sight of the sunset before them. There wasn’t much time between his words and a crackling sound all around the upper region of Ryslen around fifty to sixty gargoyles awoke with fearsome roars and glowing red or white eyes.

“Whoa!” Jilly yelped as she nearly fell out of her hammock because of the sound she was not used to hearing while she was awake. Konjakuth didn’t budge, either she hadn’t felt that her rider had nearly cause herself to get hurt or she knew that the Pern Clan leader was not in any real danger.

With a sort of sweeping motion Pleiades caped both sets of her wings and headed back into the main part of the weyr. The four who were out on the ledge, look confused for a moment then followed the lavender gargoyle. Aisugriff helped her cousin out of the hammock and followed as well. Pleiades hung her head, some of her short red hair fell into her face and she smiled coyly.

“Best to get this over with now I guess,” she smiled and started to take the jade pendant off for the second time in less than twenty-four hours. Unlike with putting the pendant on a sleeping gargoyle or taking it off during the day the side effects were immediate. Pleiades felt her stomach churn in a most unpleasant way. She ran for an empty waist bin in the corner and quickly found that she was a bit dizzy and her head hurt. By the cries from the other clan members in the room it was obvious that she looked as bad as she felt. With a bit of luck she managed to make it to the can without falling over. Soon the can was filling with some of the food she had eaten earlier in the day, starting with her last meal.

“Pleiades are you all right?” Jilly’s voice screamed and bounced about her cranium causing her another wave of nausea.

“Not so loud,” the lavender gargoyle pleaded, “it hurts my head.”

“Let’s get her to one of the healers,” she heard Ebric’s voice. She closed her eyes because of the pain, her head as well as the room seemed a bit blurry and starting to spin. Keikan picked her up when he saw that she was not going to move on her own, luckily for him Pleiades didn’t feel queasy enough to reveal her previous meals once again. It was another five minutes before they hit the infirmary. There was a commotion in the caverns as Keikan carefully set the ill gargoyle on one of the beds. Pleiades hissed as he put her down in such a way that one of her wings was trying to bend the wrong way against her other set of wings nearly causing her to retch again.

Daten was the one who carefully rearranged the duo winged gargoyle’s wings so that there was no pain. It was a minute or two before the weyrhealer on duty, M'lian, was convinced by Jilly, Okumen and Ebric that Pleiades needed help.

“I’m not sure I can even help her, she’s not human after all,” he mumbled as he approached. He looked at the lavender gargoyle for a minute in awe, it was obvious that he’d never seen Pleiades or at least not up close. The fact that she had two sets of wings seemed to be his real interest. When Ebric finally tapped him on the shoulder with a talon the healer finally came back to his senses.

“Gargoyles when awake are quite a bit like humans,” Ebric commented.

“But who’s ever seen a sick gargoyle?” Keikan snorted though he did look at Pleiades with some pity.

The weyrhealer looked the red head over, getting her symptoms told to him more by the former clan leaders and Jilly than by Pleiades. Every time the Pleiades opened her mouth to speak she nearly felt like she was going to be sick on whoever was in front of her. With a tick of his tongue on the roof of his mouth, the healer picked up a small container of numbweed and spread it on the crest of Pleiades’s head easing some of the headache that she was experiencing. He then gave her a draft of something that none of the gargoyle recognized and urged her to drink it down.

“Will she be alright, M'lian?” Jilly asked, her light green eyes showing her deep concern for her friend.

“She should be fine in a few hours,” M'lian replied with a bit of a chuckle, “She seems to have a hangover, what’s she been drinking all day.”

“Fruit juice,” the quintet replied. Pleiades winced on the bed and wrapped both sets of wings about her body. M'lian raised and eyebrow at the gargoyles.

“Fruitjuice does not do that to anyone I have heard of,” a voice interrupted any questioning as Trillienth, M’lian’s small purple dragon, walked into view. The gargoyles gawked for a moment at the dragon as she had talked verbally; they had not run into many dragons who could do that.

“Well she got sick the moment she removed the pendant from around her neck,” Jilly pointed out, “so I wouldn’t see why it would be something that she drank.”

“If it started when the pendant was off then why not put it back on?” the purple asked sensibly. The quintet of gargoyles looked at the purple like she was sprouting a new head as they looked at her. Why hadn’t they thought of that? Out voted, Keikan was made to try and place the pendant around her neck again. He preformed the task a bit grudgingly but soon the jade stone was around Pleiades’ neck once more.

“How do you feel?” Okumen asked. She had to turn away as the lavender gargoyle picked up the bucket that had been placed by her bed and was sick once again.

“Not much better,” she belched when she had expelled a bit more of her earlier meals, “Seems once it’s in effect it will take its course.”

“Do not worry child,” Trillienth smiled at her, “You will be well again soon. If my rider can live through a hangover then you should do well too.” Pleiades smiled weakly at the dragon. With a mental note to her rider, Trillienth left the infirmary.

“Well, I think Pleiades will need some rest now,” M’lian told the leaders shooing them out, “one way to get rid of a hangover is to sleep it off.” With a few quick good byes from her friends, Pleiades found herself alone in the infirmary. She had been getting drowsy for quite some time now and was glad for the laps in company. Lying down and rolling on her side the gargoyle soon found herself sleeping in a way she had rarely done before.

“They’ll wish to talk with her soon.”

“I’ve never treated a gargoyle before, I wouldn’t know when she’ll wake up.”

Pleiades stifled a yawn so as not to disturb the speakers. Can’t a girl sleep off a little sickness? she sighed and carefully snuggled closer to the pillow she had been using.

“Don’t worry, she’s awake. I’ll go get them,” the first voice stated cheerfully. The lavender colored gargoyle sleepily opened an eye just in time to see the purple dragoness from earlier. She found Trillienth looking at her as her eye wandered around the room and he gave a small smile though he still seemed to look a little nervous that she was in the room. She sat up with half smile. Slowly the smile faded from her features, as the purple rider’s eyes grew wide. Pleiades looked around and at that point realized that she had both sets of her wings open.

Quickly she snapped her inner set of electric blue wings so that her duo talon tipped wings were resting on her shoulders and made her to look as if she had a bright blue cape; she in turn left her red toned outer wings open though the single talons on the tip of each wing drooped a bit in her embarrassment. Even humans look at my double wings as something odd… Sometimes I wonder if I should have stayed in my own time… at least there I wasn’t the only one with two sets of wings.

M’lian seemed about to speak when a young woman walked in and a big grin covered her features as she approached Pleiades’s bedside.

“I hear you had your first experience with a hangover,” the woman smiled coyly.

“Don’t remind me, Min,” Pleiades grumbled, her wings lowering even more than they were, “Makes me wish I’d left well enough alone with the headache it gives me. I’m better now though… only a little twinge of pain when I move my head too fast.”

“That will pass probably in a hour or so too,” Min smiled, “If there’s something I’ve learned about your species it’s that you don’t stay hurt very long and I doubt a little hangover will be any different.”

“I’ll just have to make a note that when I want to take this thing off I’ll do it during the day,” Pleiades commented with a whisper of a smile, “Use another pendant wearer to take it off me and put it on another.” The dark lavender gargoyle paused for a moment and cocked her head carefully to the side as she looked at the Night green rider.

“So what brings you to visit me this night? Usually you’re asleep at this time I believe,” Pleiades asked, very curious as to why she would have visitors on such a minor sickness.

“It’s a few hours before dawn,” Min replied and then looked sheepish, “couldn’t sleep much so I went down to the dinning caverns. I ran into your former Clan Leaders down there, they’d said you’d made it so that seven gargoyles could be awake during the day and the only side effect found was a hang over if taken off during the night.”

“Yeah,” Pleiades replied, her outer wings now nearly touching her shoulders in embarrassment. Sounds like they might not have been happy with what happened, she thought with a guilty conscience. Her features must have conveyed her thoughts because Min quickly patted her on the shoulder and tried to put the thought out of her mind immediately.

“Don’t worry,” Min smiled warmly at her, “They and the rest of the Pern Clan are quite proud of you… even Keikan was praising you in his stiff way.” Both sets of Pleiades’ wings whooshed open in surprise; Keikan didn’t compliment many very easily. Maybe I do have some type of chance with him… but he probably doesn’t like the idea of me having two sets of wings, She thought, frowning mentally in the end but still looking a bit more chipper at the idea that Keikan might like her and complimented her in some way. She blushed for a moment as she realized it had been him who’d carried her to the infirmary; that had to count for something.

“You don’t have much of a poker face when your surprised or embarrassed do you?” Min giggled.

“Huh?”

“Your wings,” Min smiled causing Pleiades to snap both sets of wings down onto her shoulders. Min was so nice, I didn’t know she had a problem with my wings!

“I don’t have a problem with your wings,” Min chuckled, once again causing Pleiades wings to open up in shock at the girl having read her mind. “I don’t read minds, I see auras, remember? Aside from that, Auspexeth was listening to you and decided she should tell me you last thoughts.” Did Auspexeth tell her about my thoughts on Kei? No, little one, she knows nothing of that. I will not tell her that unless you wish me to. Pleiades blinked, she’d never heard Auspexeth speak before, the night green sounded like her rider in some ways. Min looked at her for a moment curiously, she had heard what her dragon had replied to her and seemed interested in what the thought was. Seeing that she wasn’t going to get an explanation from her dragon or the gargoyle she shrugged.

“What I meant,” Min started again, “was that when you’re surprised or startled you open both sets of wings and when you’re embarrassed or disappointed in yourself your wings droop… not to mention you have your blue wings down almost always when you’re not flying about.”

“Gliding, we can only glide on air currents, Min” Pleiades corrected in her soft way.

“Anyway, Auspexeth was another reason for my visit,” the Night green rider smiled as she settled into a chair next to Pleiades bunk, “she’d been talking with M’lian’s purple Trillienth, they were at the feeding grounds together tonight. She seemed quite interested in you,” Min chuckled as the red head looked at her wings and immediately set her inner set of wings back on her shoulders, “It wasn’t your duo-wings, though she thought they made you look like a humanoid duo-wing dragon.” Pleiades raised an eyeridge at this but stayed quiet so that Min continued, “She spoke like she had a feeling about you. Auspexeth of course insisted that we check you out again.”

“Check me out?” Pleiades asked on thoroughly confused.

“You remember when we first met?” Min asked her with a chuckle.

“Yeah, you searched Jilly for the Flurry clutch,” Pleiades replied, still not quite seeing what the rider was trying to get at.

“Well that day I mentioned me reading auras,” Min continued; Pleiades nodded, she remembered a small bit about that being mentioned. She’d heard about it quite a few times at Ryslen when they spoke of Min but she wasn’t quite sure if she understood how Min read auras. There were a few clan members who could read auras, even use their auras to up the powers of their attacks/defenses when needed but Min’s didn’t sound anything like that.

“I’m a searcher for this reason,” Min pointed out, “most searchers rely solely on their dragon’s ability to sound out possible candidates. However, I can actually see it, sort of as a kind of light that surrounds the person. Auspexeth has a sensitive nose that can do about the same thing but she doesn’t see auras unless she looks through my eyes.”

“And this has to do with Auspexeth’s conversation with Trillienth how?” Pleiades asked, a bit edgy because of her confusion.

“Well that day I could see that most of your clan had the makings of potential candidates,” Min replied, “Jilly just looked more ready than anyone else in the clan.” She raised a hand to stop the gargoyle from interrupting her again, “Anyway, Trillienth was starting to think you interesting, candidate material that is. Auspexeth thought you seemed stronger for a potential candidate. She insisted that I see for myself. I believe you might be ripe for impressing. Your aura’s grown brighter, possibly as bright as Jilly’s was that day. Would you be willing to stand?”

“I… I… I don’t know?” Pleiades frowned thinking aloud. Konjakuth took Jilly, but would a dragon even look at me other than to stare because of my double set of wings? she thought sucking on her upper lip, unconsciously causing her red set of wings to droop once again. “Do you think I have a chance Min?”

“Deficiently,” she smiled, “though I can’t tell if you’ll impress in any of the upcoming clutches.” Pleiades frowned but Min answered what she was nearly about to think, “I can see aura’s I can’t tell which clutch they’ll impress at. It was easier with Jilly because there were nearly 90 eggs on the sands, and we didn’t even know that right away. Now the clutches are only a few dames at a time. You could impress in the next clutch or ten clutches down the line, that’s something I can’t put my finger on.”

“I don’t have much to do other than guard the Weyr with the other gargoyles,” Pleiades sighed, looking at the floor and then slowly returned her hazel eyes to Min, “I think I’ll take the chance.”

“That’s great,” Min said, slapping her leg as if that settled everything, “I’ll go and put your name on the candidate lists right now. Jilly will be very happy, you’re the first to be officially searched other than herself from the clan. She was really hopping you’d accept.”

“She knew?”

“Yeah, she was urging me to see you as well. That leader of yours has a lot of confidence in her great Clan Sorceress.”

Pleiades was quite proud of her achievements in that short week. Much of the clan praised her, she still got stares because of her double set of wings from both humans and gargoyles alike but she was doing better on it. The dragons, unless they were new, didn’t even recognize the fact that she had two sets of wings attached to her back. The duo-winged dragons did show a bit of curiosity at something other than a dragon having two sets of wings but the novelty wore off fairly quickly.

Weeks passed and the first few hatches after the Flurry happened. Pleiades stood but found no dragon approaching her. One had sniffed at her but other than that they had looked at her oddly or not at all. Pleiades feelings of being needed were quickly dwindling as the sixth hatching happened and no dragon had even looked at her.

“Gotta be the wings,” she mumbled to herself walking off the red sands, “The don’t like the idea of a gargoyle having two sets of wings. Dragons should be the only ones to have them.”

“It’s not your wings and you know it,” a voice told her sternly from the corner on the left. Her inner set of wings shot up once again, they had been on her shoulders during the hatching as they nearly always were in public places. She turned to find the two former clan seconds standing by the wall, the two tone Keikan leaning against the wall while the kindly black toned Daten looked at her in concern.

“Kei’s right,” Daten told her in a gentle voice, as if thinking he might hurt her feelings, “we’ve seen quite a few weird ones impress haven’t we?” The bald gargoyle smiled at her and Pleiades weakly returned the smile.

“Aside from that if it is your wings,” Keikan snorted studying the wall in from of him hard instead of looking at her, “It might be because you’ve not been showing both sets during any of the hatchings. Did you ever think of that?” Despite how harsh the dark green and dark blue, nearly black, gargoyle sounded Pleiades looked surprised, even she hadn’t quite realized that she had always had her inner wings caped, if not both sets caped, while she was on the hatching grounds. He might have a point, Pleiades mentally nodded then turned curious eyes on the beaked male, He’s been to every hatching and noticed what I looked like? Does he like me?

“I have to go,” Keikan grunted, cloaking his wings and walking off, his eyes still not looking at Pleiades.

“He may sound harsh, Pleiades,” Daten told her as they watched the male walk off, “but he might have a slightly valid point.” The lavender gargoyle was a bit surprised by Daten’s clawed hand resting for a moment on her shoulder. She tilted her head at him and he smiled at her patting her on the same shoulder.

“Just think about it, OK,” Daten smiled and Pleiades nodded with a more confident smile on her features, “That’s better, don’t feel ashamed of your wings, they’re one of the thing that many love about you… well I gotta go, have to trade off my pendant to Lotta, I need to get my arm healed,” he raised it sheepishly so that Pleiades could see the bandage that was wrapped around it, parts of which were showing bits of red.

“What did you do to yourself?” Pleiades yelped, her wings rustlings in worry as she grabbed the male’s arm and quickly let go when he winced, “Sorry.”

“No worries,” Daten replied grimly, “I just got a little too close to a whatch-wher’s earlier tonight, was visiting one of the hold and didn’t realize they had one. He was only attacking in defense of his home, I got it off me and away from it before it could do too much damage. Day’s stone sleep will heal it and it will be like it never happened.”

“Be more careful,” Pleiades told him sternly, “we have a small enough clan as is, we don’t want to loose anybody… well maybe Krag but…”

“Oh he’s not that bad,” Daten frowned though he knew better about the silver gargoyle.

“You’re not female or human, Daten,” Pleiades pointed out, “you and I both know he goes after any thing with a skirt or that’s human… we’re just lucky that he hasn’t gotten into any serious trouble yet.”

“That we know of,” Daten sighed in agreement, “You never know, he might have gotten some willing subjects.”

“There aren’t many in our clan who would,” Pleiades pointed out, “Which leaves some humans who don’t realize the trouble they might be in… either that or he’s found someone or some people who are as perverted as him.”

“That’s a scary thought,” Daten shuttered. He blinked at the light that caught him in the eye and cursed.

“Sunrise, I missed getting to Lotta in time,” Daten sighed causing Pleiades to grow sheepish, her wings unconsciously lowering. She cloaked her wings and brightened some as an idea came to her.

“Let’s get you a spot on the parapets,” Pleiades stated in apology, “I’ll give your pendant to Lotta and then have him give my pendant to Bryce, he’s been wanting a chance to see the sun and I think I need to have a normal sleep. Nothing should hatch during my sleep, none of the clutches have been there long enough to do so.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Daten nodded and the duo walked off to complete their most recently discussed plan.

Pleiades frowned as she sat on the parapets. It had been months since the hatching of the Flurry clutch and she still had not impressed. She might not have felt so bad except that there had been others from the clan searched and had impressed already. More recently Kurt and Lancelot had been searched for the Vella Crean. Even they’ll probably impress before me… maybe I’m not meant to impress a dragon. Pleiades sighed as she watched the sun rise in the east, her jade pendant still in place and keeping her from a natural stone sleep.

“Why so long in the face, Pleiades?” a voice from behind interrupted her moping thoughts. She turned to find a marble blue gargoyle ascending the stairs with a statue of a gargoyle beast in his arms. His hair was white with silver highlights and was short and curly. He had a kite like structure to his wings which, as with any web winged gargoyle, made one wonder how he was even able to have a set of clothing on even if it was just a dark red loin cloth. The male was by no means small for his type of gargoyle, he was in fact about 5’ 5” tall compared to the usual 4’ something of the web-winged gargoyles.

“Alex,” Pleiades replied eyeing him for the comment that though well meant was a pun on her beak.

“Sorry, didn’t mean it,” Alex smiled disarmingly as he set the statue he carried down on the empty parapet next to the lavender gargoyle, “just thought that ‘Why so blue?’ would have been funny coming from me.” Pleiades blinked and for a moment didn’t get what he was talking about then grinned as he held out his arms in an exaggerated shrugging gesture.

“Oh, I see what you mean,” Pleiades half smiled.

“So what’s up?” Alex asked again sitting on the main walkway and looked up at the dark lavender gargoyle like a hatchling getting ready to listen to an old story.

“There’s been ten hatchings, Alex,” Pleiades sighed deciding to get right to the point, “ten since the hatching of the last Flurry clutch. I’ve been present at each one of them and still haven’t impressed a dragon. Min told me that I was ready and I still haven’t impressed while others of our clan have gone off and impressed on their first try.”

“Hmm, I see,” Alex replied, “I’d be disappointed too… but there’s been many people who have not impressed at their first hatchings, right? Isn’t that what the dragonriders have been saying?”

“Yeah,” Pleiades replied with a sigh, “But it’s getting harder and harder to believe them.”

“I say give it some time,” Alex smiled up at her like a little kid, faith and hope showing well in his eyes, “I know there’s a dragon that will be born for you, and only you. You just have to keep believing that he or she will hatch one day… look why not do this? If you don’t impress before there is possibly another Flurry or before the end of the year then ask a rider to take you to another place to try impressing.”

“That will be quite a while, Alex,” Pleiades replied turning fully to the gargoyle now, “Why shouldn’t I just go and ask for a ride now instead of waiting another few months.”

“As silly as it sounds, Pleiades,” Alex replied, flushing a bit, “I think you’re meant to be here for impression… I’m not really sure why though… just a thought.”

“You came up here just to tell me that?” the red head asked a bit flattered.

“No offence but no,” Alex replied sheepishly as Pleiades made a mock insulted face, “I originally came up here to deposit Lexxy on the parapets. We’d been lying around near the lake when dawn came. I decided to put her up here.”

“That’s nice of you,” Pleiades replied and saw the blue sapphire pendant around his neck, “Daten gave up his pendant for the day I see?”

“Yeah, I didn’t expect it really,” Alex replied looking down at the gem around his neck, “I guess I was one of the few in the clan who hadn’t been awake during the day. Daten found out and gave it to me for at least today.”

“He’s good about trying to get everybody to have their day in the sun,” Pleiades replied causing Alex to chuckle at her pun.

“So you do have a funny bone in between those two sets of wings,” Alex replied yet quit his laughing at the dark look the duo wing gargoyle gave him, “I-I-I didn’t mean it as an insult, Pleiades. I think your wings are great. They make you a popular one in conversation and to look at.” The comment didn’t help the marble blue gargoyle’s cause as Pleiades stood up, turned, and leapt off the parapets. She didn’t even hear his parting babbling of trying to dig himself out of the hole he had created.

“They’re always saying how they wish they had two sets two,” he called after her, “they think it might be less tiring.” There was more said by the marble gargoyle but Pleiades was too far out of ear shot. She decided however that she would do as Alex suggested, stay a few more months and if there was no change in the hatchings she would ask to be transferred to another place. Hopefully to one that the hatching would be soon so she wouldn’t have to deal with the stares too long.