The two figures were stark against the predawn background of the  southern hemisphere.  The forests and the rivers, valleys and deltas, all beautiful and Kemp could not wait until he saw it from aloft, on the wind and wing of his brown. 
 
[b]It will still be a few months before I am able to carry you on my back and soar on the wind.[/b]  Oroth announced completely aware of the dreams the young man of 17 was  perusing in his mind. “yeah I know, but one can dream right?” 

[b]I will never understand this need for humans to live in the past or think about the future..[/b]  Oroth rumbled a slight annoyance.  “One of the banes and pleasures of being a human I guess.”  Kemp lovingly caressed his dragon. Pernese dragons were not equipped to remember all but the most common of ideas as a 10 year old child nor think abstractly and wonder about the future.  For all their intellect, they were still animals and worried more about the present survival than anything else.  

They reached the the store houses, the weyr folk in charge of the feeding and maintenance of the weyr were already up, knowing that once the dragons and their riders started to stir, it would be a race against the clock.  Kemp hailed the older gentleman called Armon.  “Good morn Armon, is it ok if I take a few fish to feed Oroth? I want to get a jump on getting him washed and oiled up before the river gets too full of the others”  Armon was a no nonsense individual. The older man shrugged. “Do as ye please lad, my only reason for beign is to provide vittles for you and the others.”  

Kemp smiled as he put about 10 big fish on the bag  he was carrying. He had learned quickly to always have a fish or two available as Oroth tended to  become irritable on an empty stomach. “I truly appreciate all you do. If or when Thread makes its return to Pern, our dragons will fly stronger thanks your efforts.” 

“Ah git, I got job to do” The older man fussed but there was a slight smile on his face. Kemp obediently remounted Oroth and led him towards the river to begin the same routine that had been taught to all werylings in taking care of their Dragonets after hatching. You feed, wash off the dead skin, and oil them to ensure the new skin remains strong. This would prevent the skin to be brittle and cause injury when dragons  teleport ed via the extreme void known as BETWEEN.  

“I cant wait, from what I have read, going BETWEEN requires merely a strong mental visualization of the prospective target. I have studied many a scroll and tapestry and could almost bet I can help you picture and arrive on any point in Pern”  He gave Oroth a fish as the dragon snorted what could have been a derisive exclamation. “You don’t belive me? I was a traveling Harper I will have you know. Me and my master visited may holds and weyrs in the north. As a mater of fact, I wish I we could go right now to Benden Weyr in the north. One of the greatest weyr in history due to Lessa…” His mind started to imagine the volcanic bowl that housed the weyr and the many perches and doted with caves that made the habitations of both dragons and riders, the great lake in the middle and the lower habitations of the weyr forlk which took care of the weyr.  He was so lost in thought that he was not aware that this was being relayed to Oroth.

Kemp’s desire to visit the weyr was so strong that Oroth took it as a command. The next thing that Kemp knew was that there as an extreme cold surrounding him. A blackness void of any sound and light engulfed the pair.  The shock caused Kemp to loose his highly detailed image of Benden weyr which in turn confused Oroth.  This was almost a death sentence as it was not unknown for dragons to never come back from BETWEEN.  

[b]We cannot stay here, concentrate![/b]  The loud thought startled him and the lack of air was causing Kemp to loose consciousness. Desperately his mind tried to recreate the image of the bowl and the habitations but he was fading fast. Thankfully, Oroth was keen enough to take the image and use it to emerge from BETWEEN. The pair materialized amid a frantic scene. Dragons were taking flight, trumpets were shouting, people running back and forth. The last thing Kemp saw before he faded into darkness was a small girl and a dragonet looking after an ascending figure of a  strong looking dragon rider. 

The young pair had learned the hard way that BETWEEN could not only take you WHERE you wanted to go but WHEN too….