In an isolated cothold in the East Rock Territory a former Master of Stone Masonry, Hasalenn, examined a fierce looking statue. He looked over to the near replica that he had finished less than an hour earlier and nodded ruefully.

“She moved,” he stated with a chuckle. He glanced to the plains to the west where the sun was setting. Picking up a wherhide blanket, one which had seen better days, he draped it over the original statue. As the cloth settled, the last sliver of Rukbat disappeared bellow the horizon. Hasalenn didn’t flinch like he had done the first time twenty turns earlier as a brittle cracking noise came from under the cloth. A soft grin appeared on his aged features as a low feline like rumbled started up as well, within moments the rumbled turned into a roar that Pern, to be exact this part of Pern only, had only started hearing twenty turns back.

Stone fragments flew where the blanket had not fully covered the statue and where there had been stone once before now a powder blue skin shown and where the clothing had been carved into the former statue was now real clothing, mostly made of wherhide.

“Good evening, Jilly,” Hasalenn greeted the creature as she took the cloth off of herself and revealing her blond head of hair, “I trust you slept well?”

“You know very well that gargoyles almost always sleep well, Uncle,” Jilly replied folding the canvas. Hasalenn of course was not the gargoyle’s Uncle but she had only been eighteen at the time, the equivalent of an nine turn old human. It was more like she found him though, as he was the one being attacked by a wild wher and she saved him some how. Hasalenn, after getting over the shock of what his savior was and looked like, offered to let her live with him considering how she had lost her family; though he didn’t quite understand how somebody could time travel without the aid of a dragon. For nearly twenty turns Jilly had lived with the man and now was a beautiful young gargoyle female of thirty-eight turns.

When she had come, Jilly had been wearing a light pastel green jumper with shorts, now the female wore a cropped top with a jagged hem on the bottom that caused her well form belly to show. She wore a loincloth like skirt with the same jagged edge that went to just above her knees. The difference here was that a light green silk trimmed the hem into making it actually have a smooth edge with a jagged design up higher. The hide on both of these were a light earth toned color dyed green. On her shoulders now she sported a sort of shoulder armor that gave her the added look of a warrior, in training if nothing else. On her claw like hands she wore wherhide gloves that were lined with wool from herdbeast. Both wherhide and wool were died the same green as the rest of her clothing. Around Jilly’s neck she wore charm that resembled the item that had brought her to this time: the Black Phoenix Gate. It was black and gold and possibly a fifth the size of the original, Jilly wore it as a reminder of how she had made it to this time and for what she had left in her childish ways; those ways that she still had to keep her cheerful and still going.

“Have you finished it yet?” the adolescent gargoyle asked curious as to how the statue she was modeling for had turned out. She crossed the short distance to the statue and clapped her hands excitably as she saw the details. The statue’s mouth was opened in a snarl that looked comical with the two upper fangs showing. Her wings were spread dramatically out and each feather shown clear with a light texture. Jilly checked one of the stone feathers to herself and grinned.

“It’s one of your best works yet, if you ask me,” Jilly grinned hugging her human caretaker.

“You moved a bit in the last sevenday,” Hasalenn replied coyly, “So it’s not exactly how it was in the beginning.”

“Oh as if I can get my positioning exactly like I had it in the beginning!” Jilly shot back playfully, her eyes flashing red for a moment before returning back to their normal shade.

“True you do better than when I first tried sculpting you twenty turns back,” Hasalenn replied pulling on his short, yet silvering, auburn beard.

“I was a hatchling then,” Jilly replied capping her wings on her shoulders, “What do you expect, even human children can not be expected to stand still long. So where do you want me to put it, Hasalenn?” The young gargoyle finished as she crouched to pick up her stone double. The former Master thought for a moment and then grinned.

“I say we put it near the entrance to Brogg’s den,” Hasalenn grinned, “It will go well with the younger one of you, show how you’ve changed and plus it will warn others that more than a watch-wher looks over this cothold… not that anyone would believe them if they ran into you.” Jilly nodded knowingly picking up the life size statue with ease. Only a few had seen her at night, thieves mainly. During the day while she slept in stone sleep she would normally pose as being one of Hasalenn’s creations. Hasalenn had few visitors, some masters from the craft hall he had lived at for nearly twenty turns, a few prospective buyers in his gargoyle sculptures, and the occasional visit from his blue riding half brother, J’lenn of Ryslen Weyr.

Jilly walked the short distance to Brogg’s den only to be greeted with a growl from the bronze watch-wher that helped to guard the cothold. The cornflower blue gargoyle carefully set the statue of herself down near the entrance and looked in at the whirling red eyes that looked back out at her.

“Do fuss so much, Brogg,” Jilly giggled, “The sun’s over the horizon, in a little under an hour it will be dark enough for you to come out without burning her eyes.” The wher snorted at her, Brogg knew better than to mess with Jilly other than when he rarely felt playful. Being a very distant relative to dragons he could easily tell she had dealt with one like him when she was younger, she unlike humans had the strength to quickly over power him and even kill him. But even Brogg knew that he didn’t have to worry that much about it, after all the young woman also protected his master.

As Jilly started to walk away from Brogg’s den, a trilling and twittering caught the gargoyle’s attention. Within seconds an aqua colored fire lizard with white speckled wings started circling the blond’s head excitably before landing on Jilly’s shoulder. The small dragonic creature rubbed her head against Jilly’s cheek in greeting.

“Evening, Seafrost,” Jilly smiled. She mentally told the aqua how much she was glade to see her. Seafrost in turn gave off feelings of love and then quickly changed over to the idea of Jilly hunting that night. What surprised Jilly was when a picture of a river with a wide sandy bank was shown to her… Jilly knew this place well.

“Uncle?” she called as she went towards her home for the past two decades and retrieved a short sword with her name engraved upon the cross hilt; Hasalenn had bought it for the gargoyle for her twenty-eighth birthing day as a means for some of her harder hunts and to better protect herself from bandits when she found them or they here… that is if they stayed long enough to try and fight her.

“Going hunting, Jill?” Hasalenn asked handing her two empty sacks that she might need to carry her kills home with.

“Yeah,” Jilly replied, “I won’t be back until some time tomorrow night though.” Hasalenn nodded knowingly, she’d been on these long hunting trips more lately, and he knew Jilly had a second reason for these trips.

“Going to see if your Clan might finally be there?” Hasalenn asked. Jilly smiled at her adopted uncle, he knew her almost as well as she believed her cousin Aisugriff knew her.

“Yeah,” Jilly replied as she looked over her sword then sheathed it and placed it behind her in her belt, “I might have a better chance tonight I think… Frost indicated that we should hunt there tonight.”

“Yes and she also indicates that when Brogg sleeps she thinks he is starving,” Hasalenn chuckled. Jilly mock glared at her friend.

“Sure pick her most recent screw up,” Jilly replied with a chuckle causing Seafrost to leap into the air and chitter a bit angrily, “she’s had a good instinct other times.”

“That is true I guess,” Hasalenn smiled and patted his adopted niece on the shoulder, “Now if you want to get there before sunrise you should probably get to climbing that latter up to the roof. Brogg and I will take care of things here while you’re gone. Be safe.” Hasalenn ended giving the gargoyle female, whom was now the same height as himself, a strong hug. Jilly hugged him back.

“You’re only saying these things because your soar you won’t have a subject to carve during the day,” Jilly smiled as she finally let go of the older man.

“Perhaps,” Hasalenn replied with a twinkle in his eye, “now get going you rogue.” Jilly laughed, looped the two bags from earlier in her belt and mounted the latter. Seafrost chirped gleefully as she followed her mistress up the latter on her white speckled wings. Upon reaching the top of the cothold, Jilly opened her wings, waved one last time to Hasalenn and lept into the air easily catching one of Pern’s many air currents. Jilly slowly gained altitude as she circled higher into the air. As she did this, she couldn’t help but think back to the one thing that had stumped her for the last twenty turns.

Why didn’t they come with the gate, Jilly thought to herself, a rare frown showing on her features, They said that when Christiana had the Gate it took the Clan that I knew to another place and time…. But they also said that the older members of the clan and the hatchings didn’t come with them… why would that happen? The Gates always travel together save the Gate the Timewalker carries with him. The female gargoyle brought one of her claw like hands up to her Phoenix Gate necklace. She rubbed the ebony and gold symbol of her clan and the reason she had been separated from them for so long. The only thing I really know is the Black Gate, Dark Gate, Rogue Gate… what ever you wish to call it was truly a rogue what with it being able to disappear without me despite it was in my hand.

Seafrost winged about her mistress trilling happily, causing Jilly to come out of her thought. They were traveling North of Hasalenn’s cothold and thus Jilly watched ahead of her for dragons. She knew that if she were to glide for possibly three or four nights she would reach the local Weyr that was known as Ryslen, or so her Uncle had told her. She had always wanted to go there, so that she might get a better look at the dragons who had already stolen her heart despite the fact that the closest she had ever been to one was approximately a league or two away. Despite this she had been much nearer to dragons when ever J’lenn and his blue Scith visited… of course they were always gone before she woke and never arrived before she would sleep.

“I wonder if Pleiades ever figured out that spell to make those pendants that would allow gargoyles to walk around during the day,” Jilly sighed still longing to see the sun though now that longing to be awake during the day, if only for a short time was to see the Scith up close… maybe try to talk to him. The thirty-eight turn old gargoyle shook her head ruefully at the notion. She had hear from Hasalenn how much J’lenn despised oddities like herself and he hated the idea of dragons having riders of the opposite gender. From what the hide bound rider had told his half-brother the last time he visited, nearly a turn back, the Weyr seemed to be full of freaks now both in dragons and their riders. He respected Tiyanni but he disliked her way of running things.

Seafrost chirped in a secretive way, once again causing Jilly to be knocked back into reality. Bellow her the trees were starting to look familiar. They were nearing the place she had last seen her clan. Jilly felt herself becoming nervous; Was this the day she would finally find her clan. Were her memories of the still accurate? Would the even recognize her when she’d approach them? Jilly’s muscles tensed as he searched the area. She wasn’t sure where exactly the camp had been but she remembered where on the river bank she, Aisugriff, and three others had found water. About a sevenday earlier she had gone to see the spot and found the eggs that would become their own.

Her feather wings cut silently through the air as she found her river. She landed on the opposite bank so that she might see the group she had gone with come in. Her sharp eyes told her that no gargoyle had yet come to that place, yet unlike other times when she had been there, things sounded and felt very familiar. On her shoulder the aqua flit started to hum. Jilly shot the fire lizard a glare to which Seafrost ignored. Jilly licked her lips. She only ignore me if there was something near by that was being born. Their eggs must be hatching! Before she could think much more a twig snapped on the other side of the river. The snap was followed by voices which Jilly had thought at some dark points she would never hear again.

The first to come upon the river was a gargoyle a split kite winged female. Her features were feline save the brow of her head and her fan like ears. Riz! Following her was a black male with glider type wings tipped with a tri-claw on each wing. He had no hair on his head, just a few bumps and his ears made him look almost doggish as they flapped about on the side of his head. The male tapped at the side of his mouth testing if it was no longer numb. Daten! Next to walk in was Jilly idol, laughing at Daten’s misfortune of eating something that numbed his mouth and his talons. Aisugriff! The next and last to come in the clearing was Jilly’s youngerself causing her to flinch. It was odd seeing one’s younger self, even if you had planned to do so… it was almost unnerving.

So concentrated on her younger self Jilly was startled when she suddenly saw a sea green and gold claw ruffle the younger Jilly’s blond hair, her eyes immediately went to the male who, like Daten, was balled. In place of hair on his head this male had three rows of rose like spikes. Each row consisted of approximately nine or ten spikes. Each spike was highlighted in a golden color. Jilly could still remember when she’d met and named this male who was formally from ancient Cairo, Egypt.

“Lancelot,” Jilly whispered aloud as she watched him closely now. It had been so long, and despite her memories of him she did not remember him being handsome to her. Jilly shook her head not noticing that the hatchling had found the eggs and Aisugriff was impressing her four, I’ll probably think most of the males in the clan are handsome now, I mean I haven’t seen them or any other gargoyles for twenty turns.

After the fire lizard hatching, Jilly followed her past self. The pale blue gargoyle was mildly awed by how close she had been yet that nobody had noticed her… was it because she was so good at keeping quiet now when she wanted to? Or was it just pure and simple luck…? Either way Jilly watched the Clan, longing to go down and join them but knowing all to well that despite how hard she might try, she would never be able to change the past… and then even if she did she would disappear and the younger Jilly would probably never have the same experiences as she had had over the past two decades.

“As much as I wish it had not happened at times, it must happen,” Jilly sighed. The British bred gargoyle silently backed farther into the shadows as one of the Timewalkers watching the fire sat a bit straighter as if having heard her. After the gargoyle found nothing she relaxed again and so did Jilly for a time. It was as Aisugriff was telling what she had named her four fire lizards that Jilly realized that her younger self was gone.

“Shard it,” Jilly cursed softly and started to move, “she left without me even seeing her go.” Jilly quickly started to move through the trees. Behind her she heard the alarm of the Clan finding Jilly gone finally. Unlike the clan though, Jilly knew where her younger self was and went to find her. The young adult gargoyle found her form self sitting on a stump. Ironically it was the same stump that to the hatchling, she would cause to come into the world in about fifteen to thirty minutes from that very moment.

Seafrost purred on the hidden gargoyle’s shoulder, caressing her owner’s cheek. Seafrost was remember this moment as well. A tingling feeling touched Jilly, a feeling long forgotten. The Gate getting ready to flare. Below little Jilly dug into the old stump and found the black and gold Phoenix Gate. In the tree, Jilly’s heart raced.

“Griff, look what I just found!” Jilly heard her younger counterpart whoop. She heard the others start to panic a bit as they tried to reach the hatching. As the hatching looked down Jilly watched as the dream that haunted her for so many turns resurfaced but in real life and fear gripped the adolescent gargoyle.

“Not again,” Jilly whimpered aloud as the Rogue Gate flared once, at the same time realizing that she had heard herself speak before she disappeared. There were a number of startled yelps from clan member that Jilly never really remembered hearing through the flames. To the female’s surprise she saw flares of fire by each of the Phoenix Gate carriers, what surprised to even more was that when the flames disappeared the carriers were still there but with no gates. The Rogue Gate cause the other Gates to jump without them! The second flare bellow her caused Jilly to look back as her former self disappeared in a burst of Phoenix Fire.

Jilly, though knowing what was going to happen to herself, sat dumbstruck as she stared at the place the hatchling had last occupied. Despite the fact that there had been a ball of fire there only moments before there were no signs of singed plant life. The next second Aisugriff was bellow here pawing at the spot the hatchling had disappeared from. Jilly heard the griffon like gargoyle calling her name feverishly but to no avail. The cornflower blue gargoyle couldn’t move, she was now not sure how they would react to her appearing before them as an older gargoyle. She would not have to worry to much about that though as an all too familiar tingle was numbly felt by Jilly.

As Aisugriff howled in rage, Rukbat rose in the east.

Background set and Jilly were

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