Senior Fledglings Cecar sat very quietly by Quinn, her arms wrapped around her friend as she cried. Two clutches had hatched, two clutches, and Quinn had not bonded from either. In all, failing to bond at three hatchings would get to her as well. "You know there's one out there for you, or they wouldn't keep you on, Quinn." Cecar confided, rocking slightly back and forth as Quinn's shoulders shook with the sobs being ripped from her throat. "I don't ... want to ... stand again!" Quinn managed to get out between hiccups. "I can't ... go throught it again." "You can't give up!" Cecar said sternly, giving Quinn a small shake as she pushed back and frowned at her friend. "You can't give up. Not now. Not after coming so far." "Cecar, I'm not like you." Quinn said softly, wiping her eyes and taking a shaky breath in. "I'm not strong enough to go through that again." "And I would have been?" Cecar asked. Yes. Quaritoth answered smugly, but quietly. But I suppose that's beside the point. Cecar shot a glare towards the light brown and then sighed and hugged Quinn again before standing. Holding out a hand, she beckoned and led Quinn out of her room and down towards the Ryslen Dunes. "Where are we going?" Quinn asked, more than once. She knew, of course, she had been in the Weyr for too long not to, but she feinted ignorance. "Cecar..." "Quinn, I am going to prove to you that you are going to bond." Cecar said firmly, gesturing her friend onto the sand before her and crossing her arms as Quinn looked around uncomfortably. All signs of the past hatchings were gone, though it had been only the day before, and Cecar felt a pang of guilt for bringing Quinn back down so soon. Swallowing it, she pulled Quinn along, up to the new eggs just lain, and they stood. "We'll not touch them." Cecar said smoothly, avoiding looking right at the two golden mothers and the irridescent green hovering protectively above the eggs. "We're just here to look." "I don't want to look." Quinn spat out bitterly, turning to leave. Anger flared through Cecar and she pulled Quinn back. Quaritoth was muttering in the back of her mind about her stubborn friends and she couldn't but help to agree. "See those eggs?" She asked, making sure Quinn looked at all twenty-some eggs laying in the sand. "One of those is yours. If it wasn't, the mother's would have kicked us off long ago." "They didn't last time I came, and I still didn't bond." Quinn sulked, crossing her arms as she glared alternately at the eggs, the dragons and Cecar. "They know you're going to bond! Isn't that what matters?" Cecar almost screamed, wondering if she was spending too much time around Quaritoth. Her temper seemed to get more and more volitile as time went by. Quinn didn't say anything and Cecar simply shook her head, hugged her friend, and left the dunes. Making her way slowly up to the room she and Quaritoth had been assigned, she ran through her mind the past year. After bonding Quaritoth, they had started training. They were still in training, though not nearly so difficult as it had been. And they were finally starting to fly! She and Quaritoth agreed on that if on nothing else. They would be fliers. She is thinking over what you said. Quaritoth told Cecar as she entered the room. Looking up at her light brown bond, a smile played on Cecar's thin lips and she shook her head. "I can only hope." She muttered, and Quaritoth snorted. She will bond. It's only a matter of time. Quaritoth said smugly, sounding very certain. There just was not a dragon strong enough in the last two clucthes. "She would need a strong dragon." Cecar said dryly, dropping back on her bed and staring up at the stone ceiling. Quaritoth shifted on his bed to watch her, his white tail twitching slightly as thoughts raced through his mind. Cecar could sense....agitation in him and frowned, turning her head sharply to glare at him. "What's up with you lately? First you can't stop arguing with me, and now you're twitchy as a, as an aifre!" There's nothing wrong with me. Quaritoth argued, but he didn't sound very convincing. Cecar simply raised an eyebrow. Quaritoth stood and started pacing, pausing occasionally to rear up on his back legs and look around, sniffing the air. "Quar," Cecar began, but he growled and turned to look at her, eyes glowing red. We are better than they allow us to be. He rumbled, tail lashing from side to side. "I thought we had this discussion last year." Cecar said with a calm sigh. Slightly bemused, she sat back to wait out the storm. I don't see why we have to wait for them to say 'go'. I know what I am capable of doing! "Quaritoth." Cecar said quietly, but firmly, after listening to him rant for a few minutes. "I'll make a deal with you." Turning to look at his rider, Cecar couldn't help but giggle. The two of them were so drastically different, and so very alike, it was brilliant. "We will ... try some things on our own. But only if we find someone to supervise us." Quaritoth snorted again, but lay down and watched Cecar very carefully. Find someone to watch us as we break rules? I like it! And I know just the person. "A female-riding male?" Cecar said hesitantly when Quaritoth finally spilled his guts. He nodded and grinned. "Just as long as you don't get too friendly. You're sure he'll not rat us out? Well, I suppose it's worth a try." Cecar agreed, groaning when Quaritoth happily soared out of their room and down to the ground below. The only thing that was going through her mind at that moment was, What have I gotten myself into to? Cecar bonded at Ryslen