Greg was sitting on the porch, the cold rain had stopped and a soft sun was shining on the world, enjoying a nice book that he had found on the attic. He looked over his book for a second and saw his sister. She was mopping up the floor and when she looked outside, he quickly went on with reading. Probably covering up her tracks. He thought. 
Bother with the fact that he was still thinking of his sister and not paying attention to his book, he stretched his stiff legs and got up from his comfy chair. 
Ashley had washed her dress, and now was cleaning up the house. She had promised that to her mother. Sighing and reliving yesterday, she smiled and hummed happily her favourite song.
"What are you doing? Covering up your tracks?"
"No. I promised mother that I would clean the house. Don't look that way. I do keep my promises."
"Weren't you grounded? And didn't you sneak out of the house?"
"That's different."
"Why is that different?"
"I didn't promise to stay at home."
"I just can't have a normal conversation with you right?" He walked to the other side of the room and banged the door shut.
"Why don't you listen to my reasons first? You always think that you're right, but..." Ashley sighed and went on cleaning. No point in explaining anything to him when he was like this.

That evening, Ashley was making herself ready to sneak out again.
"What? Are you going out again?" Greg asked her when he saw what she was doing.
"Of course. You can come too if you want. But you probably won't do that right?"
"Just give me a minute, and I'll be ready."
Ashley dropped her jacked and looked at her brother. He had never come with her. Why this time? 
"Don't look so shocked. I want to know what is so good about this all."
"You're not going like that are you?" She looked at her brother, the uncool type with the glasses and everything. 
"What's wrong with it?"
"Can I help you with your outfit?"
"Hmmm."
"I'll take that as a yes!" Ashley giggled. 

"I look like a monkey." Greg said after about half an hour
"You do not. Silly." Ashley grinned. "Why have you been hiding this look? You're pretty cute."
"I am not. Now lets go."
Both Ashley and Greg were leaving the domestic house, and ran towards there destination.

"Ashley! How are you?" A young man asked her. Greg found that he was too close to his sister, and he couldn't help but glare at him.
"is this your boyfriend?" the man asked looking at Greg.
"Not at all silly. This is Greg, my brother. Be a bit nicer to everybody." Ashley looked at her older brother. 
"Why? You know, he'll probably take advantage of you."
"I'm smarter than that Greg." She said seriously. He had never heard his sister talk like that. She almost seemed to have been grown up. Almost that is, because afterwards she screamed and giggled a lot with other girls, and then the liquor.. To much..
But at some point, Greg got interested in the conversation his sister and her friends were having.
"And is everything going as planned?" one of the girls asked her
"I think so. He doesn't know.." Ashley whispered back at him. 
"Watch out.. Your brother is listening." a third girl interfered. Greg looked at the 3 girl. They were smiling sweetly to him. It was hard to say anything in this crammed space with to much loud music and to many people trying to dance.
Irritated, Greg sipped from his drink. What did his sister like about this place?
He looked back at his baby sister, and he couldn't find her. Where had she gone? 
He ran towards her friends and asked them where Ashley had gone. 
"Outside... With a guy.. Don't know his name." A really drunk girl said.
Greg cursed, and then ran outside.

Outside he looked around and found his sister going inside some bushes. Greg ran after them and cached up. he jumped towards the guy and surprised they both fell on the ground.
"Leave my sister alone."
"Greg! What are you doing?" Ashley screamed to let him go.
"He's going to take you into the bushes... He's going to.." He hadn't seen that the guy beneath him pushed him away and hit him. Greg (being a wimp) fell on the ground and couldn't stand up anymore.
"Sorry! I didn't want to hit you that hard.. Sorry Ashley.. It really wasn't that hard."
"You dared to hit my brother?" Ashley ran towards the guy and hit him straight in the face. Then she turned to her brother and kneeled beside him.
"You can forget everything Ashley!" The guy, with a nosebleed yelled at her, running away.

"Are you ok Greg?" Ashley asked him. He was still lying on the ground, seeing nothing but black spots and little stars. He moaned out of pain. He tried to sit straight, but then he felt everything turning around.
"I told you not to follow some guy."
"And I told you I know what I'm doing." Ashley said.
"Who was he?"
"Mark. He was going to be the DJ on your surprise birthday party. I already planned everything, except that."
"You do know that I hate these things?"
"of course I do know. But it would have been a calm night.. But yeah.. Not any more."
"I'm sorry Ashley.. I didn't know."
"It's ok.. It's only 2 months of planning that all have been ruined for my honour."
Greg grinned and felt that his head was splitting open.
"Are you able to stand up?" Ashley helped her brother up, and together, they went home.

"I have 3 more months of house arrest.." Ashley looked at her brother.
"I have a week for going out without asking, and then 2 months for picking a fight with some guy." Greg said.
"I know it already.. My social status will be ruined..." Ashley looked at her brother and then started laughing. Greg looked at her and tried to smile back. His cheek was broken and he had a black eye. 
"It's no fair.. I protected you... And still you get less." Ashley said between her tears of laughing.
"Poor you." He said sarcastically. 
Ashley looked at her brother, then grinned and said: "Perhaps you're right. I'm better of.."

3 months later, when Ashley could finally go out again, she didn't go. She stayed home and had fun with her brother. They were playing a game when Ashley saw something.
"What was that?" She asked her brother.
"I haven't seen anything. Want me to take a look?"
"I'll go with you.. To protect you."
"Funny..." Greg said sighing.
Outside they both walked slowly with a flashlight in their hands.
"Look, over there!" Ashley screamed. "That's big.." she whispered afterwards.
"Lets go closer."
"You're not going to faint are you?"
"Oh shut up Ashley." Greg whispered back.

"Could you have been any louder?" Greg asked his sister when they were sitting around the campfire.
"You have no idea how it is to walk around with a skirt." Ashley responded.
"Hey you guys.. Calm down will you." 
"How can I calm down Dranal?" Greg responded.
"Perhaps you could try Zen?" Ashley suggested giggling
"Who can go Zen if they see you in the morning without any make up on."
"I'll hit you!" Ashley jumped up and attacked her brother.
"What do you think Delsayat? Would they be capable to become aspirants?"
"I do think ssso.. But not in the ssssame Casstle.. They'll bring everything down.." 
Both Ashley and Greg became quiet when the forth member of the group spoke. The forth member, a fire drak from Drockh-Tallahn castle, had wings, fur and looked like a dragon.
"Do you want to come with us?" Dranal asked them.
"Of course we will!" Ashley jumped away from her brother and asked them when they were going to leave.
"And you Greg?" Dranal asked
"What about our parents?"
"They are old enough to understand.." Ashley said, walking towards the drak. "Come on brother dear!"
"We need to tell them first." Greg said hesitantly.
Sighing, Ashley turned around to her brother and said: "Well then let's go tell them.. the sooner we're off to Icarus!"

"Bye Ashley!" Greg waved at his sister. They had first flown home, told their parents, and then they had flown to Dun Keiba. Ashley had jumped off the drak and waved at her brother. She ran inside the castle and signed up for the next clutch.
Greg himself flew further, and subscribed himself at Drockh-Tallahn Castle, the home of Dranal. Their they waited for the clutch to hatch and pair a drak.

Greg looked silently to the female drak that pushed her children away one by one. He was the last of the aspirants to bond. He didn't fear that he would be alone, because he saw the most beautiful drak he had seen in his short drak-knowing-life.
The male night was more withdrawn, unwilling to leave his mother’s side at first, until, with an encouraging nudge from Kimechash, he took a few tentative steps toward Greg. “Grrreg? Errr, my name’ssss Vorshaw.” He purred contently as his new partner stroke his furry head.
"Welcome to this world." Greg whispered in the soft ear of Vorshaw.

"You do know that you are a night drak right?" Greg asked his drak grinning
Vorshaw had just been hit by an other drak that hadn't seen the night drak in the night sky of Icarus.
"That doesn't matter." The drak said a bit hurt.
"Ohh... It was just funny. You didn't even get hurt or anything.. It's a sign that I take good care of you."
"Really?" The drak twapped his tale and looked sheepishly to his bond. "Didn't think of it that way."
"I know you didn't.. Doesn't matter though. Lets go inside now.. It's getting late."
It was true that Greg had learned to stay up later then before, just because his drak loved the night so much. If Greg wouldn't tell him to sleep, Vorshaw would never sleep.. or perhaps when the sun was shining brightly.
"Shall I fly you to our cave?"
"Yes, but shout when a drak is getting to close to you."
"Promised." The drak said very seriously.

Greg had visited Ashley, but she hadn't impressed a drak yet. Though the eggs were hard, nobody could just urge the eggs to hatch. But when the drak got really snappy, everybody knew it wouldn't take long anymore. 

There were four healthy draklings, each different from one another and only one the color of their dam. It was that one, a Day female, that sped up her pace when she spotted Ashley standing near the edge of the room.
"You! You mean well I jussst know it, I want you to be with me!" The Day drakling shouted, tumbling over herself in her haste to arrive. Ashley reached out and grabbed her, but they both went onto the soft ground - giggling madly. "I am Nanphaw," the drak said.
Ashley didn't hear the rest. She and Nanphaw were a team now, and she would be safe.

Vorshaw looked at the night sky. He loved it, perhaps because he was a night drak. His knight had warned him so many times that flying at night, as a night drak was a little bit dangerous, but the drak didn't want to hear it. 
And as many nights, Vorshaw hovered through the cool air just above Drockh-Tallahn Castle. And it happened again. A Ice Blue Blue-Silver Dragon flew against him. Vorshaw looked at the female dragon and said: "Hello! It'sssh alright you know, don't worry."
The female dragon flew past him and didn't even look at him. Vorshaws looked at the female dragon. "the nerve" The drak thought. He flew behind the dragon and tried to get her attention. Nothing seemed to work, and when the dragon flew to her bond, Vorshaw followed and landed right in front of her so she couldn't move.
"Now.. I don't need an apology or anything.. But it doesssh seem rather impolite to just fly away..." Vorshaw started, and stopped when he looked in the pretty eyes of the dragoness. 
"My name is Vorshaw..." The drak said and bowed. "Here's a flower." the drak picked a rather small flower from the garden of some person and gave it to the dragon.
"Vorshaw? What are you doing?" Greg asked when he got up and saw his drak with a little flower in his paw. 
"Wooing.." The drak whispered to his bond.

Ashley is an aspirant at Dun Keiba
Greg is an aspirant at Drockh-Tallahn Castle

Background and divider come from