Kaiya stretched out lazily, the small wooden chair she was sitting on tipping over slightly. She looked over at Jopha, who was similarly laid out. The two of them had brought their chairs out on the ledge of their weyr to enjoy the mid-morning sun. Mabonth and Deimoth were currently away, who-knew-where doing who-knew-what, and their riders took the opportunity to relax.

“Can you believe it?” Jopha said, “A morning with no chores, and a Gather this afternoon! I could die of happiness!”

Kaiya chuckled and closed her eyes, feeling the sun warming her face. In the back of her mind, she could feel Mabonth laughing, and she smiled. Whatever Mabonth was doing, it was fun.

She heard faint footsteps coming up to the weyr, but paid them little mind, focusing more on the sunlight on her face and the wind through her hair.

“Hi, Kaiya. Jopha.”

Kaiya’s eyes snapped open and she looked over at who had just spoken. “Hey, Kelaki.”

“Kelaki!” Jopha exclaimed, “What brings you here on this fine day?”

Kelaki was one of Kaiya and Jopha’s weyrling classmates, and a fellow green rider. She quickly looked around, arms folded and with a slightly disturbed look on her face.

“Shards!” Kelaki said sharply, “Mabonth and Deimoth aren’t here…”

Kaiya looked back at her, concerned. “Is something wrong?”

“I can’t find Laishanth,” Kelaki replied, “and she won’t answer me when I call.” She ran a hand through her hair. “And I’ve got a splitting headache!”

Jopha covered her mouth to stifle a laugh. Kaiya glared at her, then replied, “Do you need us to help you find her?”

“If I’m right,” Kelaki said, “she’s going to be wherever Mabonth and Deimoth are.” She sighed. “What if…”

Kaiya and Jopha looked at each other, and Kaiya couldn’t help but smile.

“What if…” was teal-green Laishanth’s “go” phrase. Her curiosity got her into trouble more often than not, and whenever she teamed up with fun-loving Mabonth and Deimoth the practical joker, the troublemaking increased to legendary proportions.

Kelaki suddenly let out a shout and clapped a hand to the back of her head. Kaiya and Jopha hurried over to her.

“Are you all right?” Kaiya demanded.

“Y-yeah…” Kelaki stammered, rubbing her head. “Laishanth fell and hit her head.”

“Laishanth… fell?” Kaiya said slowly.

“What is your dragon doing?” Jopha asked.

Suddenly, Kaiya felt a strange light-headedness come over her. She raised a hand to her head. “That’s strange,” she said, “now my head’s hurting!”

“Come to think of it,” Jopha put in, “I was having a bit of a headache before you showed up, Kelaki!”

The three girls looked at each other with growing dismay.

“Let’s go find them,” Kaiya said.

After half an hour of searching, along with a revolving wave of headaches, the three riders found their dragons gathered around a large tree.

“Shells, Mabonth!” Kaiya shouted through a pounding headache, “What are you doing?”

Hanging upside down by her hind legs from a high, sturdy tree branch, wings splayed out, was Mabonth. Her jeweled eyes whirled from blue to green to yellow, and Kaiya could hear her amused giggle. A moment later, her eyes turned red as her grip on the tree branch slipped and she dropped to the ground like a stone. Her head bonked against the grassy ground with a thump.

Kaiya winced as the impact flowed through her own head.

Oopsie! Mabonth sang out. She shook the dust off herself and mantled her wings, laughing as she made her way toward Kaiya. Being upside down is fun!

“I think that’s quite enough upside-down for today,” Kaiya replied hastily.

You’re hurting! Mabonth immediately deflated, bending her head down to pat Kaiya’s forehead.

“I’m okay,” Kaiya said, “Just don’t overdo it next time.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “But whatever gave you the idea?”

Kelaki sighed. “It might have been me. I was reading an old book from the Archives the other day, and there was a curious animal in it. The Ancients called it a ‘bat’.” She shot a lovingly exasperated look at Laishanth. “So Laishanth wondered, ‘What is a bat?’ ‘Why are they upside down?’ ‘Why do they look like furry dragons?’ ‘What if a bat was a dragon?’” She smiled. “You can see where this is heading.”

It sounded like fun to me! Mabonth chimed in.

As expected. Kaiya laughed a little under her breath.

Jopha snorted. “And Deimoth says she was dared into it. ‘Who can hang upside down the longest?’” She looked at Deimoth with pride. “And of course she agreed. Challenge accepted!”

Suddenly, the watchdragon bugled, signaling the start of the Gather.

“It’s time!” Jopha exclaimed.

“Can we trust you to not get into trouble while we’re out?” Kelaki addressed the three greens.

Kaiya laughed. “What kind of question is that?”

I’ll be good! Mabonth said sincerely, Really!

As they headed back toward their weyrs, Kaiya thought about Mabonth and her penchant for getting into trouble. No matter how much mayhem she caused, either alone or with Deimoth and Laishanth, Kaiya would never regret Impressing Mabonth. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

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