Back In Time

Writers: Devin, Estelle, Francesca
Date Posted: 7th September 2025
Series: The Missing Wingleader

Characters: M'gan, R'kede, N'vanik, Alyena
Description: A missing bronzerider returns to Dolphin Cove
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 11, day 3 of Turn 12

R'kede

N'vanik

It was evening, and the deep blue-black sky was clear and scattered with
bright stars, when the bronze dragon returned to Dolphin Cove. His
arrival was quiet, with no bugle of greeting, only a brief mention of
his name to be noted down by a drowsy watchrider as he glided down
towards the half-circle of the Weyrbowl. It had been a long journey in
the dark, and he was glad to be home.

His rider reached forward to lay a hand on the dragon's neck, breathing
deeply as the tropical night air slowly drove out the icy chill of
/between/. **Well done.** His love and gratitude for his dragon's
courage flowed through their bond. There was so much that he'd pushed
aside in order to focus on their jump, but tomorrow would be soon enough
to think about the answers he'd found. **Let's go back to our weyr and
rest.**

He felt the dragon's assent, and leaned back in the straps, preparing
for their landing with the unconscious ease of thousands of flights as
strong wingbeats slowed their descent. There was enough trust between
them that his eyes had fallen half-closed, and so he didn't notice that
something was odd until he heard the voice in his mind.

}:There is another dragon in my weyr.:{

The bronzerider frowned, some of his weariness fading. **What?**

}:A brown.:{ The faceted eyes glowed a dull yellow, slowly darkening
towards orange. }:He is lying in my couch!:{

He blinked, wondering for a brief, uneasy moment if they were tired
enough that they'd landed on the wrong ledge. But no - he knew the shape
of the arched entrance, the patterns in the rock. His nerves prickled,
reflecting his dragon's irritation as he slid down from his back. Was
this a joke? If it was wingriders taking advantage of his absence...he'd
give the trespassers a piece of his mind!

"Hello? Who's there?" He strode into the weyr. "What's the meaning of
this?"

R'kede had turned in early that night and been in a deep sleep, dreaming
of bright blue skies and gentle waves, when M'gan's voice and Osherith's
sudden alarm roused him. "What..." he mumbled to both his dragon and the
stranger. Still partially asleep, and naked, the appearance of a shadowy
figure in his doorway sent a shot of adrenaline through him. Survival
instincts kicking in, the brownrider stumbled out of bed, putting it
between him and this person who seemed to want to do him harm. He
grabbed the two closest things he could: a book and a stone dragon
figurine, holding them in front of him like weapons. "What are you doing
in my weyr?!" he yelled, voice raspy with sleep.

"What the - what are YOU doing in MY weyr?" M'gan demanded in the
drill-instructor's voice that he reserved for his wing's worst
miscreants. He flipped the light switch and stared at the man who'd just
leapt out of his bed. "Aren't you a bit old for silly pranks?"

"What?" Fear quickly transforming into confusion, R'kede stood upright
but still held onto the figurine, just in case. As his eyes adjusted to
the light, he sent a silent query to Osherith.

}:Isarth is here:{ the brown said.

"Isarth?" R'kede repeated, taking a few seconds to remember why that
name sounded familiar, and who that meant was standing before him. Then,
it clicked, and his confusion deepened. "M'gan? You're back?!"

"Obviously," the bronzerider replied acidly. "And that's Wingleader
M'gan to you, brownrider. Go, on then, what was it? A bet? Someone dared
you to spend the night here while I was away?"

R'kede ignored the questions, taking a few steps to approach the
bronzerider as though to make sure it was really him. Then, remembering
he was naked, he stopped, not sure if he should put on shorts or speak.
The latter won out. "M'gan, you were_gone_. For months. Shards, it's
been almost half a Turn. And now, you made it back." He knew it wasn't
really his business, but the questions poured out. "Where were you?
Or,_when_ were you?"

The irate dressing-down he'd been about to deliver stuck in M'gan's
throat, and he stared at R'kede, feeling as though the rock had shifted
beneath his feet. Half a turn? He wanted to deny it, to ask if this was
some kind of bizarre joke, but...he_had_ been timing. How could this
other man possibly have known?

}:Osherith says that it is his weyr,:{ Isarth reported, sounding
confused. }:We were not here.:{

A cold, sinking sensation swept through him, the kind he hadn't
experienced since he'd woken one morning, as a young wingrider, to find
he'd slept through drills, only a thousand times worse. A rider might
lie when he was caught out, but his dragon wouldn't. "I - I was... oh,
shards! Sorry!" He backed up a pace, his thoughts instantly turning to
how he could fix this. He had to get back to his own time. "I must have
mistaken the coordinates. I'll be going - I'm sorry to have woken you..."

"Wait!" R'kede yelled, almost falling over as he stepped towards the
bronzerider while in the process of pulling on a pair of shorts. "You're
back! Whatever happened, I'm sure the Weyrleader can figure it out." And
if that meant him losing this weyr, Cyclone Wing... he would have time
to think about it later. His eyes unfocused, as he prepared to tell
Osherith to bespeak Loseth.

"Hold on, I don't think we need to bother the Weyrleader about this."
This was ridiculous. He sounded like a weyrling pleading not to be
reported for being caught out after curfew. "I really am awfully sorry
for waking you up, but if I go back now, then tomorrow, or in however
many months, I can buy you a drink to make up for it?"

R'kede just stared at M'gan for a moment, in shock. Did he really think
he could suddenly appear and then, what? Disappear again? **Tell Loseth
what's going on,** he told his brown. Then to the bronzerider, he took a
placating tone. "I'm awake now, so why don't we get something to drink?
Maybe a snack?" He wasn't letting the man out of his sight until he was
turned over to the Weyrleader.

In the meantime, Osherith reached out to Loseth, his tone steady.
}:Isarth is back. He and his rider are in our weyr.:{

N'vanik nearly dropped his book. **What? Is he okay?** he asked, already
on his way to the ledge.

Loseth reported that Isarth and his rider were fine, but M'gan was
having a disagreement with R'kede. N'vanik didn't bother with riding
straps, or shoes, and had Loseth take him directly to R'kede's weyr.
Sure enough, there was Isarth, and inside N'vanik found the bronzerider
with R'kede. A rush of relief filled him. "M'gan, you're back."

"Well - yes." M'gan looked thoroughly embarrassed, and he inwardly
cursed the stubborn brownrider. Perhaps it was understandable to call
for the Weyrleader if a strange rider burst into your weyr at night, but
thanks to him the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control. "Look,
N'vanik, it seems there's been a - ah, an accident, and I've ended up
ahead of where I should be. I_am_ sorry, but if I jump back now before
anyone else sees me, then there's no harm done."

N'vanik's relief turned to fury. "You_timed it_? And you think I'm gonna
let you do it_again_? What the flaming shards is wrong with you? You're
not going_anywhere_!"

Out on the ledge, Loseth growled and turned red eyes toward Isarth.
}:You will not leave.:{

The other bronze rumbled dangerously and shifted his position to take up
more space on the ledge that he still thought of as his. Though large,
it was crowded with two fully-grown bronze dragons, as well as the brown
inside. His eyes darkened to a deep crimson, but he didn't respond.

M'gan was still more confused than angry, though he could feel his
dragon's emotions stirring his temper. "But I've got to go back. My
family - friends..." Irrkali. "I can't leave my Wing without a leader
for half a Turn!"

"You already_did_!" N'vanik clenched his fists. "What was so important
that you'd risk your life to go joyriding in the past?"

As the bronzeriders spoke, R'kede returned to his bedroom to put on a
shirt and give them some privacy. Osherith was uncomfortable being
closed in by two larger dragons, but R'kede reassured him that it would
be over soon. At least, he hoped so. He paused in the doorway, ignoring
the impulse to speak up to defend his leadership of Cyclone Wing. The
Weyrleader certainly didn't need any help dressing M'gan down.

"It was a personal matter," M'gan said, barely restraining himself from
telling the Weyrleader it was none of his business. "If I don't go back,
who's going to lead Cyclone? How are you planning to explain this to them?"

"R'kede leads Cyclone now and it's gonna stay that way. I thought you
had sense, you wherry-brained_dimglow_." N'vanik wanted to throw him off
the ledge.

"Who?" M'gan blinked, the loss of his Wing not quite sinking in. Tired
and confused as he was, he couldn't bring to mind a bronzerider called
R'kede.

R'kede gave a little wave from the doorway. "That would be me."

The bronzerider glanced over at him, his face a picture of frank
astonishment. "You put a brownrider in charge of my Wing?"

N'vanik tilted his head. "You got somethin' to say about that?"

There was a long pause while M'gan considered the wisdom of responding.
In the end, he contented himself with a deeply suspicious glower in
R'kede's general direction. "He'd just better have treated them right,
that's all. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm going back, which should save
you both the trouble of replacing me." He turned on his heel and headed
for the ledge.

Anger made the Weyrleader surge forward and he grabbed M'gan's arm.
"You're not going_anywhere_!" Loseth roared and spread his wings,
physically blocking the other bronze.

Isarth growled and rose to his hind legs. He was tired after his long
jump/between/, there was a strange dragon in his couch and all he wanted
to do was go back to where things made sense. }:Out of my way!:{

M'gan winced as the roar echoed off the cliffs, shattering the peace of
the evening. "Now you've done it. That'll have woken the whole Weyr.
I've got to get out of here before anyone else shows up." Something was
nagging at him about this whole situation, but he pushed it aside and
shrugged his shoulder irritably, trying to shake N'vanik off. "Shards
and shells. Let go! You can punish me when I get back to my own time!"

N'vanik's grip tightened and he fought an urge to punch M'gan. "This
_is_ your time! I'll have Panitath ground Isarth if I need to."

"Great. Let's tell the Weyrwoman. Why not get the harpers to sing it
from the watch heights while we're at it?" M'gan threw up his free hand
in exasperation. "Did you sleep through the part of training where we
were told to keep the timing ability quiet? Any moment now, someone is
going to come round to check we're not murdering this poor brownrider,
and then we really will be in trouble."

As though to echo M'gan's words, Osherith gave his own roar of anger at
being trapped in his weyr by the two increasingly agitated larger
dragons. Deciding N'vanik could handle himself, R'kede went to his
dragon, hoping being physically near would keep him from lunging at the
bronzes. **Everything is going to be ok. They'll be out of the way in a
moment.** Osherith growled in response and shifted back and forth, but
didn't make any aggressive moves.

"You're gonna try to lecture me about keeping timing secret, but you
think you can go play around in the past whenever you sharding well
please?" N'vanik didn't think he could get angrier but it turned out he
could. "How many times have you done this?"

"Only this once since I came to Dolphin Cove. I'm not a shaffing idiot,"
M'gan retorted. "It was necessary. As it is necessary for me to go
back,_now_, before I meet myself, or find out who's died, or something
equally unpleasant."

N'vanik growled. "You know, I'm almost tempted to let you go kill
yourself."

"What? Kill myself?" He frowned. "It's not that dangerous if you have a
coordinate..." Then an appalling thought occurred to him; perhaps the
Weyrleader knew something he didn't. "You don't mean that_I've_ died in
this future?"

"Not yet, but if you try to go back to a time you_weren't here_, that'll
be it for you." What had happened to M'gan? He used to be so steady and
reliable. Or had that all been a front?

M'gan drew a breath to speak, but at first no words came as
understanding slowly dawned, fragments of the puzzle coming together to
reveal a catastrophe that couldn't be fixed by another jump /between/.
The brown pair in his weyr, the fact that both dragonriders thought he'd
been gone for months. "You mean, if I try to go back...I don't make it?"

"Yep." N'vanik's eyes blazed with anger. "So if you wanna try another
stunt, it'll be your last."

"But I can't stay here." Despite his protests, M'gan stopped trying to
wrest his arm from N'vanik's grip and glanced around the weyr that was
no longer his, as if desperately seeking something familiar. He noticed
the details now - the table at a different angle, a missing rug, someone
else's books on the shelf above a desk that wasn't his. Disoriented, he
closed his eyes briefly, rubbing his face with his free hand. "How am I
supposed to explain where I've been all this time? What am I going to do
without a Wing?"

N'vanik was too angry to care about the secrecy surrounding timing it.
"You're gonna tell everyone the_truth_. And as for your Wing, you're
going right back to Cyclone,_under_ R'kede."

That broke through M'gan's daze. "You want me to tell the whole Weyr
that Isarth and I traveled/between/ times? Have you lost your mind? Half
of them won't believe me and the other half will want to try it
themselves! We'll have blue and greenriders popping in and out whenever
they're a few minutes late for drills. And as for serving under a
brown..." He managed to stop himself and gestured towards R'kede and
Osherith. "I mean, ah, him. Well, that's just absurd. No offense," he
added belatedly.

"No one's gonna try it because_you_ will convince them not to. Greens
and blues," N'vanik said with a snarl. "_You're_ the one playing around
with time doing Faranth knows what. And I better not hear one fecking
word about you being insubordinate to your Wingleader, _Wingrider_." He
emphasized M'gan's new rank with dangerously narrowed eyes.

"Fine. Though if he's any use as a Wingleader, he'll be able to deal
with errant wingriders without running to you." M'gan managed to sound
rather doubtful of that. Surely this couldn't be permanent. Once he'd
had some sleep, he'd think of a way to get back to his own time.

Before he could say anything else, there was a rapping at the inner door
and he heard a woman's voice. It sounded like the new Headwoman. Not so
new any more, he supposed.

"Wingleader? Is everything all right in there? Your neighbors heard
shouting and roaring."

"No, it's all right..." M'gan started to reply before realizing she must
be talking to the brownrider.

R'kede strode across his weyr, ignoring M'gan but giving N'vanik a
pointed look. He thought M'gan joining his wing as a wingrider was a
terrible idea but didn't want to complicate things in the moment.
However, N'vanik would be hearing from him as soon as M'gan had been
dealt with. He opened the door slightly and gave the Headwoman a tight
smile. "Sorry about the noise. It shouldn't happen again. My unexpected
visitors will be leaving in a moment."

N'vanik bit back another furious response at the bronzerider. "Sorry to
disturb you, Headwoman. M'gan will need to be set up in one of the
cliffside weyrs. A_small_ one."

Alyena glimpsed N'vanik over R'kede's shoulder and another, older man in
riding gear. **M'gan?** The missing bronzerider had returned - and
wherever he'd been, by the simmering tension in the weyr and the raised
voices that had been heard, it hadn't pleased the Weyrleader. Putting
her curiosity aside for now, she turned her mind to the problem of
finding accommodation for him according to instructions without
offending a man who might be Weyrleader himself one day. "Of course.
Welcome back, Wingleader. Perhaps you'd like to wait in the dining
cavern while we have a weyr prepared for you? It shouldn't take long and
you can have something to eat and drink after your travels."

M'gan seemed abstracted, as though he'd had a profound shock and his
thoughts were elsewhere, but he did nod. "Ah, yes. Thank you."

"Good. Then I think we can leave Wingleader R'kede and his neighbors in
peace," Alyena suggested, glancing at each dragonrider in turn.

"Thank you, Headwoman," R'kede said. He couldn't wait for everyone to
leave. He really needed a drink.

N'vanik wasn't done with M'gan, but he could be done for now. The
Weyrleader nodded. "Sorry for all this, R'kede."

In the pause that followed, M'gan saw that the others were giving him an
expectant look, but it took a moment for him to catch on. "Oh - right.
My apologies for waking you up, brown... Wingleader."

"Good evening, Weyrleader. Wingleader." Alyena ushered the dazed
bronzerider out and closed the door behind them. Although she was
tempted, since it was dragonrider business she refrained from asking
M'gan the question that was most on her mind. Where, in all of Pern, had
he been?

Last updated on the September 18th 2025

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