Aislinn nods one tan wing toward a small pile of papers. :In there is written our flight- or rather, the reason why we didn't have a flight, although we both would have liked to. It's even illustrated. Kephra wrote it down for us.:

Latham grinned and stretched his two tawny wings to the sky. His pale white body almost blended in with the blue, cloudless depths behind him.

:C'mon! We're almost there!: he said, mindvoice filled with excitement. Aislinn could smell the salty sea air, and she struggled to keep up. Her shoulders ached from the long, high-speed flight.

:Slow down! You know I'm not as fast a flyer as you,: she said, the long blonde grasses rushing below her. She could feel the slight breeze, reaching at her with smooth fingers, the hand northwest; she had to tilt her path a little to the right to keep flying in a straight line.

:Just preparing you for our flight, love,: the dream said slyly, :and anyway, it'll be well worth it. Just wait 'til you see!:

The sea-scent was getting stronger now; Aislinn could feel the sting of salty air against her muzzle and the sweet tang on her tongue. Her smooth, tawny body felt a surge of energy and she put on an extra effort, catching up to the tireless Latham. Then she saw it.

The horizon was a thick blue line of ocean, with soft waves lapping gently on its mirror surface. And the gentle waves poured upon a fine, sandy beach of a rich, glossy volcanic black.

Aislinn landed in the sand, sinking her two taloned feet deep into the plush sand. It smelled of old sulfur, faintly, but the sand was of fine quality and the most unusual coloration she'd ever seen.

:It's beautiful,: the tan said in amazed shock, :will it...will it still look like this after it's been melted into glass?:

:I don't know, but I hope so,: Latham replied, : so. Was it worth the energy?:

:Any time spent with you is worth the energy,: spoke Aislinn, nudging Latham's neck with her left cheek.

:I'm glad you feel that way,: said Latham. He looked worriedly at the sun, which had tinted the ocean to the hues of a bright daylily. It loomed, threatening to set. :We really should be getting back to Kephra's . I don't fancy navigating in the dark.:

:All right,: Aislinn agreed with reluctance. She snuggled her feet into the warm sand one last time, then took off, following Latham, whose wings now blended into the brilliant sky, his white body now showing better in the orange hues.

Latham, still reeling with energy, did several loops in his flight, then dove into the long grass. He could feel each strand slap against his skin as he skimmed the grasses, but it didn't hurt.

:Be careful!: Aislinn shouted from the sky above.

:I'll be fine,: replied Latham, eyes searching upward for a glimpse of his mate.

The Dream heard a hiss like air being released from high pressure, and then a sharp pain lanced through his shoulder. He tumbled to the ground, a second pain going into his wing tips at they hit the ground. As he landed, he caught a glimpse of a serpent's slender brown tail twisting away from him into the grass.

:Latham!: shouted Aislinn, her voice high with fright. :Are you all right?:

She landed on the dark soil, each blonde blade of grass warm to the touch, and spotted Latham. He was lying on his back, one wing horribly twisted. His deep blue eyes were half-lidded and stressed.

:It hurts,: said Latham, :the snake, watch out for the snake.:

:The snake's gone, Latham: Aislinn said, nervously and quietly. :Can you fly?:

Latham twitched both wings. The left one worked, but the right one shot bolts of pain into the rest of his body. :I don't think I can.:

:My telepathy isn't strong enough to reach Kephra from here,: Aislinn replied, her talons scuffing onto the dirt.

:Mine isn't either.: Latham began to shiver. His body felt hot and cold at the same time. He turned his head a .little to see how badly his wing was injured and then wished he hadn't. Where it had been bitten, it had swelled and discolored to a dark purple. So he turned to the sunset, and although it was mostly obscured by the tall grass he could tell that the sun has since fled, leaving the sky stained with night, the first lonely stars peering dimly through a gray-blue sky.

Aislinn narrowed her eyes. :Well, I've got to do something!: she said, and then yelled out, :Is anyone out there! We need help!:

The sky slowly deepened to black, and Aislinn continued to yell her calls out in an act of desperation. Her mindvoice was tired and strained. Both of the minidragons were barely visible in the night's long shadow.

:All right,: Iris said with a minidragon grin, :but here's an even better one. :I'll bet you can't beat this one, Bro.:

She concentrated on the small pond of water and from it a dragon rose, its watery body moving with grace across the water. It opened its mouth and breathed a handful of mist into the night air.

:Hmm. Creative,: Kawena replied, :but I could repeat that trick easily.:

:But think of it?:

:You've got me on that one, Iris,: he said. He took a good look at his sister, pretending for a second that he'd not known her since birth. Her wings, like his own, were a semi-completed rainbow of fuchsia, yellow, and light green, while her body was of a pale gray. The rainbow spines running down her form were exactly like his own.

:Brother, you have the oddest look on your face,: she said to him, head twisted to the side, :Whatever are you thinking about?:

:Ah,: he said, the laughter twinkling in his eyes, :Nothing important at all. I was just making sure you still looked exactly like me.:

:What, hoping the curse will be lifted sometime, eh? Forget about it, you're stuck with me.:

:-Out there? We need your help!:

Both Iris and Kawena twisted their heads as in the direction of the cry. Then, without speaking a word to the other, they flew toward the voice.

Latham's health was getting worse, not better. The infection from the snake bite had managed to travel along his entire wing, and now he couldn't move it at all. In addition, he was barely conscious. Aislinn stood over him, still yelling, although she now had a headache from the strain.

:We're here! We're here!: Iris's strong mindvoice rang through the night. She flew over the dark sea of grasses, unable to see anything beyond their surface. :Where are you?:

:In the grass,: Aislinn cried out, glad and nervous at he same time. The Tan looked down at her fallen mate, wondering if anything could be done.

Iris and Kawena landed under the thick grass, spotting Latham's smallish form in the night. They weaned their way over to her, their bright colors showing to the tan minidragon, even though she was tired and the grass was thick. As the two rainbows approached they noticed that there was also a tan minidragon there, her coloration blending in too well with the landscape.

:You're both rainbows!: Aislinn observed, gaining new hope. :You can Heal him then? I am Aislinn, and this is my mate, Latham. Please hurry! I don't know how much longer he'll be okay.:

:What happened,: Kawena replied, getting a good look at Latham's battered form. The Dream's wing was twisted and the swelling had taken up the whole wing joint. Latham's two blue eyes were half closed. Kawena send a questioning mindtouch at the fallen minidragon, but got little in reply.

Aislinn shook her head in agitation. :He was bitten by a snake, and he hit the ground. That's all I know.:

Kawena concentrated on healing the small minidragon, bending down his snout to the dream's injured wing. Iris looked at Latham's injury and shook her head.

:Aislinn, we are not miracle workers. Although we can Heal him now, he will still need a while to get over the damage that has already been caused him. He might not even be able to fly afterwards, and certainly not right after we've healed him.:

Aislinn nodded, her teal eyes shimmering in the moonlight. :I understand,: she said. :How will I get him back to Kephra's though?:

:We'll work on that problem when we get to it.:

Then Iris dipped her head and concentrated, aiding her brother.

Latham was still unconscious, but the swelling had much decreased and a bit of the color in his wings had returned. His wing looked normal, for the most part.

:Now we work on getting your mate back to his home,: Iris said, :and although we are strong enough to carry him, we will need something for him to rest on to see that his wing is moved as little as possible. Some sort of carrier- the grasses might work, if you know how to weave them.:

:No I don't,: Aislinn replied, her heart soaring upon seeing Latham mostly restored. :But I can- a glass carrier. I can form glass into a carrier. Would that work?:

:I think so, as long as it is light. Where will you find the sand?:

:This way,: said Aislinn, rising. But she stopped and folded her wings, glancing at Latham. :Will he be okay?:

:I'll make sure of it,: Kawena promised.

:And this is where Latham found the black sand. I hope it'll be strong enough. I've never used black sand to make glass before.:

:I'm sure it will,: Iris said, trusting in her change powers to make the glass of a stronger material if it did indeed turn out to be fragile.

:Okay, here we go,: Aislinn said. She scratched out a rough rectangle with one claw and melted it together, then eyed it critically. The cooling glass was dark, like obsidian, but also cloudy. Iris directed a single wave to move farther up the beach then it should have, and there was a sizzle as the glass plate met with the foamy water. Aislinn glanced at the shiny glass. :Did it work?:

She hopped over to the plate, then flipped it. The surface was untracked, although the plate had cooled faster then she would have liked. It looked strong enough, though, so she used her feet to build a large handle onto the plate.

:Doesn't that hurt?: Iris asked, watching the tan minidragon work with the glass.

:Not really. We meld sand; does it make any sense that it should hurt us when we're working with it?:

Once the black carrier had cooled, Iris picked it up with her feet and lifted it. It was heavy, but not too much so; with both her and her brother it couldn't be too hard to move the minidragon and the carrier. Aislinn and Iris took up the short flight back to Latham and Kawena.

:So you two are wild?: Aislinn asked. Kawena and Iris had their feet gripped tightly around the glass carrier, Latham still in shock, although he now spoke infrequently.

:If you mean not bonded, yes, we don't have a bondmate.: Kawena kept the carrier up by sheer force; he could tell his sister was having trouble as well. But they were making progress, and they should have the trip completed before dawn, if Aislinn's calculations were correct. To lessen the strain on their wings, both Kawena and Iris had their telekinetics strong at work to help keep the carrier afloat. :Well, not yet. I've heard it's possible to bond to a human after birth.:

:Have you ever wondered what it might be like to, you know, be bonded to a human?:

:Sometimes,: Iris said, :but we wonder about a lot of other things too.:

:Ah,: said Aislinn, and they continued most of the rest of the journey in silence, Latham grinning tiredly at his mate through the dull pain in his wing. They made it to Kephra's just as the sun began to rise, the sun bright behind them, and the sky filled with a watercolor arrangement of pinks and yellows. Aislinn remembered the black sands, and decided that the journey was not entirely a disaster. Meanwhile, she'd like to think about getting some sleep. Latham would need some, too; it had been a long night.

:And that's why we never had a flight,: Aislinn explains. :Latham's wing is better, although he can't fly as well as he could before. Kawena and Iris have chosen to move into here now, although I'm not sure why. They do seem to enjoy it here; you'll have to ask them.:

:And I,: she says with a guilty grin, :got my sand.:

She pulls the lid off the crate she's been standing on. Within are tiny grains of sand, each one sparkling in the morning light. And in the warm sand is nestled a small clutch of eggs.

The End