Bittersweet Symphony (Green Nuoth's Flight)

[Ember]

This totally sucked. Like...really. Nephele had a scowl plastered on her face as she leaned against the snoozing form of her dragon. Burimyu was actually a decent place once you got used to it but the solution to the problem of the ever frequent green flights was horrible. "'Get her out of the weyr, go to the desert' they say. Well, to between with them! It's not sharding comfortable," She muttered to herself, ignoring the presence of male dragons either waiting on the other side of Nuoth or arriving.

She had arrived at the designated spot for meeting up several hours ago when her green's glow had become extremely noticeable. Weyrlings or riders who hadn't figured out their dragon's flight quirks would have had to come even earlier than her so she was thankful for that small miracle. This really is a boring place for a flight, though, she thought as she looked out at the desert. Not much there for her green to work with, was there? Not that Nuoth needed to perform special tricks to be worth the attention of all the males.

Proud of her dragon? More than a little. It was just a bit of a shame that Nuoth had slipped into one of her moods just before her flight. The males who were used to her easygoing flights and sweet nature would be in for a bit of a surprise this time around, Nephele was willing to bed. When she sensed the first stirring of Nuoth's mind the greenrider pushed herself off her dragon gently and moved towards the riding straps she'd taken off Nuoth when they arrived. Technically she could fly without them, what with her trust in Nuoth being so high, but moving between without a harness was still dangerous.

Among the straps lay the blanket she'd brought with her. Nephele would much rather a bed but a blanket would have to do instead. In the end she'd be too caught up in the flight to care until afterwards anyways. With a quiet sigh she set to spreading it out on the ground. The spot the Burimians had picked to meet up for flights was...curious. It was a place where desert met grasslands. Another thing to be grateful for..sand would be annoying to deal with. Nephele didn't have any more time to think about it though, for Nuoth had awoken fully.

The green uncharacteristically completely ignored whatever males were present as she woke up and stretched languidly. She did look at Hers though as the annoyance seeped through their bond. My apologies for the discomfort, NepheleMine, she said simply. And then she was leaping into the air without so much as a warning to her males. She rose quickly, showing off her incredible speed. Well come on then, she demanded of her males gently. You're here for me so no lazing around. She didn't feel much like regulating her speed and she could fly circles around most of the dragons at Selenitas when she had lived there.

[Rei]

Cr’oph yawned as he leaned against the resting Mavenath. “Really? I can’t believe I agreed to this just on the off chance that you’d be able to get some tail. Ridiculous.” At least they weren’t somewhere like the middle of the damn desert but still. Oh he realized the reason they where out here. A rising green at Burimyu would almost certainly catch the attention of some Selenitas sweep rider and there went there carefully devised and protected cover. Still this was almost just dumb. Then again what options did they have? Couldn’t have a flight at a hold, would freeze to death in the higher mountains. So this half desert half grassland thing was about as good as they could get. Yeah it was still a bit open but at least no one ever came out here. There was no need. No resources to be had, no people to protect, and any thread that fell got devoured by the sandworms.

Still coming all the way out here just so Mavenath could try his hand at catching a fast green in the complete open was….lame. His bronze was at a disadvantage anyway being so damn big. The dragon should just wait for Jingth to rise and then give it a shot. At least he’d have a legitimate chance then. Arrgh. But nooooo Mavenath liked to chase a green or two on occasion. Aggravating bronze. The dragon’s first catch had actually been a green. R’men’s sister’s dragon Minth. Suppose that meant it was possible for him to win a green flight, just unlikely. Ah well Mavenath graced what females he believed where worthy of his presence, arrogant snot. Not that he outwardly broadcasted that fact. No never.

As Nuoth began to stir Cr’oph could feel the bronze’s excitement rise and then the quick green was in the air and demanding attention. Like a typical woman. Everybody look at me. Mavenath snorted and got to his feet, nudging the bronzer with his nose to force the rider to stumble quite a few steps toward Nephele just avoid being knocked on his butt. I know you really aren’t in the mood for any of this since the Jiggles. But please. Just try to loosen up. With that the bronze reared back and launched himself into the air large wings catching a rising thermal of desert air.

He used that to propel himself upwards with relative ease, a friendly croon offered to the green he had chosen to follow. The bronze could never be as quick, or acrobatic, or graceful as her and he would look foolish trying. So instead he gained some altitude and tried to stay above her current location. It was only the beginning. He’d get some chance to try something later. Just had to be patient.

[Ruby]

"As if you are above bending over backwards for tail," M'kai shot at his brother with a grin, doing his very best to make what could be a very, very awkward situation at least a little hilarious. He'd landed only a few seconds before, out of Cr'oph and Mavenath's line of sight only because M'kai and Futh didn't think squishing a rising green before her Flight would win them many points in the sky. M'kai hadn't realized Cr'oph would be here - Futh had neglected to mention that - but here they both were, and all M'kai could think was 'thank Faranth she's female, at least'. Unconsciously assuming exactly the same position as Cr'oph only to realize what he was doing and shift to the other foot, the Bluerider looked over at Nephele, doing his best not to flick his eyes in his twin's direction every five seconds or so. They had never chased together before.

They were out of Nephele's earshot if M'kai spoke quietly (which he had), grouped a little closer together than the other Chasers, who were spread out over the desert/grassland in a loose formation. Futh, oblivious to His' back and forth between anticipation and worry, waddled over to Mavenath so he could nuzzle his favorite bronze hello. Mavenathtwin, so wonderful to see you here! A lovely day for a flight, is it not? He would have included Nuoth, too, but she was still asleep... or was she?

Not, apparently, M'kai quipped, eyes shifting back to Cr'oph again. Nuoth had, indeed awoken and gotten to her feet, taking off in a flourish of green. Mavenath was next, with Futh not far behind. M'kai had to scuttle a little to clear Futh's downstroke, which of course blew his hair all over the place (he'd have to get Isori to braid it out of the way one of these days), but he quickly recovered, trying not to hover too close to Cr'oph. The Blue tailed his much larger younger 'brother' into the sky, which of course just made M'kai uncomfortably aware that this lovely little trifecta was incest waiting to happen on oh so many levels. Futh and Nuoth were siblings, from the same clutch, and while Dragons might not remember, M'kai did. Given the bluerider's track record in flights, incest was probably the next step. Ugh.

Spreading his feet into a fighter's stance, the Bluerider crouched a little, all of his attention going in to staying as far away from Nephele as possible for as long as possible. It was when he got too close that he tended to get caught in awkward situations (see: Baoth's flight). He'd try something this different this time, hopefully it would work. For now, though, his gaze focused on Nephele as Futh's violently purple eyes locked on Nuoth. A croon escaped the Blue's throat as he tilted into a wide, banking turn, taking advantage of a thermal off the desert to augment his poor speed. Nuoth was fast; this would be a tough flight for the steady Blue, but if Futh had nothing else going for him, he was at least smaller than his Mavenathtwin?

[Ember]

Well...that was an interesting turn of events. Nuoth had managed to attract both Mavenath and Futh, meaning she got to play with the ginger twins. Nephele couldn't deny that she'd likely have fun with that if she could hold onto herself at all. She was willing to bet one or both of them was a little worried about having a relative in the chase. Incest in dragons was one thing, in humans it was a completely different thing. She finished fixing the blanket's edge (thank you dragons for messing it up again) just before she felt her mind slipping away, to get caught up with Nuoth's.

Time to try it...She focused on holding herself apart a little (not something she usually did even in everyday life) and found it far more difficult than she would have expected. So her own personal fun would have to be limited. Since that was the case she approached Cr'oph with a gentle sway in her hips and a decidedly feral expression on her face. She twirled around him playfully, trailing a hand across his chest. Her hand dirfted lower part way through teasingly before she left to play with M'kai. It was cute how he was trying to stay away. She wouldn't be having any of that!

She was even more bold with her former classmate. She fully pressed herself against him and gave him a wink. It was okay~! She spun around behind him quickly and gave him a shove towards her blanket and Cr'oph. While she was having her fun, Nuoth was definitely testing her males already. With few obstacles in a desert she decided to make use of the other dragons. They'd be her obstacles for each other. But first...She shot upwards still before abruptly levelling out and...waiting. She was clearly waiting, simply circling above until they got closer.

It was not only a good opportunity for them to show her some tricks but to make sure she didn't completely lose her chasers. That would be bad. When Mavenath and Futh got close enough she swooped downward to bare her claws at Futh for a slight moment. She hoped it would be surpising enough to stall him for a moment as she boldly brushed right past his claws, trailing her tail along his belly. She slipped past the danger zone of being forcibly caught and moved on to Mavenath. What to do...aha!

The green twisted gracefully to pass along his flank. To avoid him catching her and to make things more difficult for both of them, she pushed off his side (careful of her claws) with as much force as she could muster. Her goal was to get him into Futh's direct dive path, should the blue do that. Even if she didn't accomplish that then at least she had pushed herself away. She let herself fall a little further before spreading her wings and pulling out of the dive with a sharp 180 degree turn.

((Late comers are welcome.))

[Rei]

Cr’oph gave a mild chuckle to his brother’s comment but that was all. His eyes searched the horizon futilely for any late arrivals. Really? Just Mavenath and Futh? That took Mavenath’s chances up to fifty percent. Which the bronzer couldn’t help thinking was a good thing. But at the same time….Well it left the loser little choice in moths. There simply wasn’t one. Well shit. Probably a good thing between was so damn cold. Threesomes where all well and good but not when they contained your twin brother. That was an very awkward situation he was really, really hoping to somehow avoid at all costs. Good thing ole Mavey never fought his control because Cr’oph had a feeling he was really going to need it. To top it all off he really wasn’t in the mood for anything since Jiggles had been pulled apart and devoured. Yeah not even sex. Siiiiigh.

Mavenath gave a loud bugle and a quick backwards look at the smaller blue he affectionately called ‘brother’. Flashing the other male a toothy smile he preformed a slow roll. Indeed wonderful day for a flight my brother. I wish you the best of luck. His mind tone was warm enough to let the other know his words where sincere. Did the bronze want to win? Of course. But he wasn’t so keen on making this a competition between the blue and himself. He’d do his best and leave it at that. Large wings making quick work of the distance Mavenath swung out of the thermal and stilled his wings into a glide violet eyes fixed on Nuoth. Now just what kind of flyer was she?

Cr’oph watched Nephele approach with interest and even offered her a charming smile although it was probably obvious his whole heart wasn’t in it. She was attractive and she was putting on a show for him. What the hell was wrong with him. Any other day he’d be eating this up and encouraging her. Today he was having trouble caring much. Maybe if he let more of his bronze in it would help but….the red head wouldn’t. Not since the bronzer had almost been gutted by F’lix, thanks in no small part to Jiggles. Jiggles….Faranth he was pathetic. The hand traveling lower along Cr’oph’s abdomen had his eyes going back towards the greenrider who was demanding his attention. The barest stirrings of warmth starting. Then she broke away to flounce over to his brother. Well damn.

Watching Nuoth shoot upwards Mavenath again powered upwards after her brushing Futh’s mind lightly to let him know to go on ahead if he wanted. There was really no point in decorating his upward path with aerial attempts currently. Futh could perform better ones with relative ease so Mavenath just relied on displaying what he knew he had more of. Strength. Stretching his wings out to their fullest and driving upwards completely under his own power, thermals for the moment ignored. He had plenty enough stamina to outlast the green and then some after all. Wouldn’t hurt to show of a little muscle.

As Nuoth came to play with him he crooned to her as she brushed past his flank. The swung his tail quickly to her side to try and trail at least part of it against her as she past. Then the green was moving closer and as he realized what she was up to the bronze tensed. He was quite a bit larger than her so even had Mavenath not prepared himself for the push it was doubtful Nuoth would have moved him that much anyway. Still the strong push off did cause him to dip a little to the side, and with a playful rumble the bronze went with it.

Dipping the wing and using what little momentum she gave him he performed another slow roll trusting that Futh would be able to work out what he wanted to accomplish on his own. Leveling back out Mavenath snapped his wings shut and fell after her, pulling out of the dive well before she did and then proceeding to follow. The bronze was making sure to stay above her current location that way he was better able to react to her quicker movements and wouldn’t have to scramble for altitude if he needed it.

[Rowana]

Maybe he hadn't really be sure at first, or maybe he was just being overly cautious. Either way, Chaoth was a little late. Merridan had been surprisingly indifferent about the whole thing. It hadn't taken her long to realize that most of the greens, and apparently golds, that Chaoth chased were going to have female riders. It didn't make much difference to her either way. Maybe it was growing up with so many brothers, or maybe it was her own lack of modesty, but Mer didn't much care about gender. Chaoth's main trouble was his size. Chasing small, quick greens was almost beyond him. Yet Mavenath was going, and they would fly over open desert. Perhaps with no obvious obstacles, he could impress the lovely Nuoth.

Chaoth blinked out of between and immediately spotted her. Against the emptiness of the desert below, she was like a jewel in the rough of the earth. Mer could feel her brown's eagerness as his eyes began to purple. "Hey!" she scowled, giving him a poke in the back. "You Chase with me on here and I won't talk to you for a sevenday!" Chaoth chuckled. Did you think I would, my Merridan? he asked playfully. Quickly, he swooped down, as close to Nephele's blanket as he dared. His claws kicked up sand and Merriday hurriedly slid off and ran to the other three humans. I would not want you to miss the fun! the brown finished as he took off again.

Mer rolled her eyes. They'd missed the first part of Nuoth's flight, so she figured that might affect his chances a little. She knew that wouldn't stop him from trying, though, and he could certainly fly when he wanted. Feeling the waves of desire, Mer sighed wistfully, and trotted the rest of the way to the blanket. She was dressed in a loose shirt, pants and sandals, no sense in getting fancy for something like this, but still had a dagger at her waist. Mer never went anywhere unarmed. Crossed her arms, she grinned at Nephele and her two males. It was such a shame to interrupt their fun, but she wasn't about to be left out.

Chaoth's large wings caught the warm air and easily bore him aloft. His eyes delighted at the sight of Nuoth dancing around the other males. So daring! And clever to try such tricks where she had little else to dodge. Pardon my tardiness, sister, Chaoth crooned lovingly. He rolled over on his belly, dropping after her and the others. Playfully, he regarded the other two males with a spin of his wings as he right himself. Pulling out of the dive to match Mavenath, he ducked under the bronze to match Nuoth more closely. True, he might have a better chance if he stayed higher, but that was hardly fun!

[Ruby]

Well... shards. It was only Futh and Mavenath, M'kai's line of thought followed a similar one to Cr'oph's. Couldn't possibly help that both of them had recently lost pets, either. While Cr'oph was likely to retreat even more, things like that tended to make M'kai rash and impulsive, two things that were sure to be terrible in this situation. He had to stay apart from Futh. Had. to.

In the air, though, it was easy to see M'kai's resistance. Futh was still riding his thermal upwards, trying his wings on a few oversized tricks that Nuoth could certainly fly circles around. Mavenath's greeting was enough to knock him off the tower of air, setting his wings to wobbling until he had to slow his speed and gain altitude without the thermal. It was obvious that something was lacking in the Blue's performance - some commitment that hadn't been made, holding him back mentally as well as physically. He knew it, too. M'kaiMineLove, this isn't working! I need you, this is just sad. I may not be the fastest or most agile Blue, but both Chaoth and Mavenath are large, and right now, both are outperforming me! This is... it's embarrassing![/i]

M'kai didn't have time to respond. He'd squashed the burgeoning jealousy when Nephele went to Mavenath - no, Cr'oph - first, opting to stay away in hopes of being ignored. Given Futh's performance, he wouldn't have been surprised. But no, here she was. Shards and shells. And not just kind of there, not a touch or a tease (or, thankfully, a bite), but rather her whole self, all of her, pressed up against him in a way that melted M'kai's resistance in about a second flat. He'd always thought Nephele was hot, too, which certainly didn't help. Faranth, this was not good. He actually moved to embrace her before he realized what he was doing, but it turned out to be a good thing - he was so stunned by the rush of flightlust that her shove would have sent him face first into the grass if his hands hadn't been out to catch him already. Sad.

Unable to resist showing off, he did a push-up before springing to his feet, a definite change in his demeanor now. Instead of hovering far away, he stalked closer to the blanket, in that dangerous gait Cr'oph had all the time but M'kai only seemed to manage when in a flight. Merridan, here now apparently, was ignored; she was as good as male, always had been. To be honest, however, the tiny part of M'kai that registered her presence was relieved. At least there was some chance for the loser, unless of course Chaoth won. And he just was not going to think about that. Nephelenuoth was far more interesting, anyway.

In the sky, this change of heart manifested very quickly. While Nuoth's claws had indeed frozen Futh in his tracks, M'kai's mind finally melding with his gave him a burst of strength just as her tail left his belly. With a surge of his wings, the Blue shot ahead, staying even with the Green for a wingstroke longer than she would have expected, showing off his position. From any other dragon it would have been threatening, proof that she had made a mistake and he was allowing her to go only out of some twisted sense of pride; from Futh, it was simply cute, too creatures playing tag or some equally harmless game. After that, though, he peeled off backwards, describing a sky-colored arch with his back before plunging down after his green beauty, below playing with his Mavenathtwin.

While Nuoth's ploy hadn't exactly gone as planned, Chaoth's arrival effectively fouled up Futh's dive line. Flaring one wing to re-direct his path, though, he was able to clear the Brown, using every bit of the extra pudge he always carried to pull himself down faster. With a complementary roll to Mavenath's, he somewhat elegantly cleared the Bronze obstacle, then looked for Nuoth - where had she gone??

She had only pulled up of course, turning her dive into ascension. Doing the same (albeit far less gracefully), Futh struggled against the air, working to pull his pudgy frame into the sky.

[Lotty]

Surprise, Surprise....

It was almost impossible to see that form that had ghosted along the winds and blended into the surroundings as if this was always it's home. If only he could shrink some more. So small he was already, and deadly fast at that, but not quite as miniscule as any of the grains of sand that covered the barren expanse of land. This was no bother though, one had to reveal themselves eventually, and while one may not see him head on - the brown's hide managed to be the exact shade of the shifting sands, save those few spare flecks that gave him depth - a dark dragon shaped shadow falling over the ground and running over the hides of the competitor's likely gave him away. With wings outstretched, he captured the sun for fleeting moments until finally bursting away with all of his bombast and bringing what shade he could to the speeding Nuoth. It required an aerial sprint no doubt, and he wouldn't hold his position longer than he needed to send his message out and make his presence known, but for these few breaths he was helped with desert gusts... and ghosts. In the tradition of the tales and stories passed down to him night after night that had been spent in this place his words came only as a whisper, suggesting that he might not even be there at all. Just a mirage... just a heat born hallucination... Nuothfriend, if that didn't ring any bells than nothing else he would say would either, but regardless, I hope in this time you have not forgotten me as I have not forgotten you...

The dragon paused, though dangerous as it was to be spending this much energy for a greeting, I regret that we should meet so briefly such as this and that our time together will be so short lived. I hope that you forgive me as you have always in the past... And with those words he backed off again, slowing his wingbeats and letting the air push him back with a slight unfurling of his wings until he was forced back again. He was worried not about losing his position, and after all it was only fair since he did have such the great fortune of being able to intercept the diving green as opposed to starting with everyone else. His rider, still lucid in the back of his head - control was a thing that had to be learned for survival out here - was strongly implying otherwise. Pettahth while appearing stacked (camouflaged in the environment, familiar in it, and as always lethally small) had enough handicaps against him, or at least enough of them that with the other dragons he was an equal. Above all, the dragon was starved, in fact they had been out hunting on the edge of the grasslands there for those huge flightless wherries that so adored sticking their heads in the sand when this all came to pass - Pettahth on account of his color was an obvious choice for such daytime operations in that place - and having been obviously distracted was flying on a very empty stomach. Ribs were showing on the creature just as they were on his rider.

Factor number two was the fact that he could not afford to be flashy and could not afford to be remembered by anyone other than Nuoth and it was for that reason he did not so much as offer the green another word or a mention of his own name. K'sel was enraged enough that this was happening, and so compromises had to be made. He may not have the sort of flair this time that the lady typically desired and as such may not even have a hope of winning, but he was in it for principle... he had to chase her as if it was his job. Should he pass out from exhaustion or famine then so be it... but he'd do it quietly and ask not for a bit of help. Everything was on the downlow... even K'sel who was approaching from behind the small little posse and not making even so much as a sound and hoping to Faranth (yes, deal making with a creature he didn't even believe in) that nobody would turn around and see him. That nobody could look past the long, outgrown, sable mane and pull away the scarf that had been draped loosely around his neck and head; it was a strictly practical piece of apparel to protect from the sun, but in the circumstances the ample fabric did well to conceal bits of his face. Too bad that was one devilishly angry glare that still stood out.

A part of him most definitely did not want to be there.

[Ember]

Cr'oph was...kind of disappointing. Not much interest there. That made it a challenge, something to keep having only two to tease more fun. His brother proved more interesting though. She knew the instant she had all of his attention and it made her break out in soft laughter. She knew that a good part of it was flightlust but the fact that she could still do it was oddly comforting. His showing off earned even more laughter and she did a playful spin before catching sight of Merridan.

Nephele froze for a moment as a slight twinge of anger came and went, followed by an aprehension that was all her own. The greenrider was quite homophobic and entirely against sleeping with another girl. Looks like her own fun was over for the most part. She couldn't properly deal with Merridan's presence without giving more of herself to Nuoth. She let her mind slip more into her green's (though she retained a little of her awareness) before moving to greet the brownrider. She placed her hands gently on the other woman's shoulders and leaned in to place a quick, forgiving kiss on her neck. Also...teehee?

She drifted away again to tease her other two males. It was easy enough to see when Nephele herself was into the game and when it was just Nuoth's influence by how she interacted with them. M'kai was pulled down closer to her own height and given a searing kiss to the lips. When she separated from him she gave a little giggle and pranced back over to Cr'oph. Was he interested yet? Curious to see if the same trick she'd used to lure M'kai in worked on his twin she pressed herself against him too. She pulled away quicker though to lightly run her hands over his lower abdomen. Nephele was suddenly assaulted with many emotions and the knowledge that someone she cared about a lot was somewhere nearby. She backed away from Cr'oph and froze.

Nuoth was both surprised and impressed by Futh's sudden devotion to her flight - something had been lacking in him before - and the move that let him stay with her for that moment longer. He earned himself a heartfelt croon for his trouble. Her trick with Mavenath didn't work as well as planned as far as moving him went but it did give her distance and she could live with that. Besides, Chaoth's arrival had helped mix things up further. She was slightly angry that he was late but it passed quickly enough. She could tell he was genuinely into it so it was okay. You are not late by much. I look forward to seeing you make up for what little missed time there was.

And then there was another. Nuoth was startled to learn of the other presence - she'd had knowledge of them beforehand due to having Hers on the ground with the other riders - but this ghost of the desert was a mystery...at first. What was even more impressive was that they were keeping up with her. When Pettahth's mindvoice reached her the green noticeabley faltered though she corrected it quickly enough. Pettahth? How could I forget you, my friend? There were many questions she wished to ask, though her flight certainly wasn't the time or place for such things. As he drifted back again the green surged upwards, almost completely vertical.

It was a little early but she could justify picking a male anyways. Rushing about at such speed was tiring and, while she had more energy, she didn't see any need to completely wear herself out. Also, once she'd caught sight of Pettahth's form she knew better than to prolong her flight. He would tire quickly and she cared about all her chasers too much to want any of them hurt because of her. When she gained enough height she again waited for the males.

[Rei]

Ah new arrivals. Mavenath paid as much attention to them as a person might pay an gnat. Which was to say not much at all besides a quick look to note who they where. Chaoth. Brown large but he was late so that would count against him in the end. The next male who joined tardy as well was of more interest. He was familiar but in that far away sort of way that made him more a curiosity than anything else. Hmm. Violet eyes only briefly considered the small sandy brown Pettahth before his attention swung again to the faltering green. The small brown. He had somehow surprised her. Did she know him? With a snort Mavenath pushed such from his mind instead powering upwards with strong stokes after Nuoth. He already had a bit of an advantage at being at a higher altitude than the rest. Sliding into a thermal the bronze used it to help his upwards progress putting all his concentration into rising as quickly as possible towards the glowing green.

Cr’oph watched Nephele play with his brother with no small amount of jealousy. Tch. Lucky M’kai. Merridan’s arrival was noted with a quick nod in her direction. Late but eh at least she was here. Some small part of the bronzer recognized her as competition but, as separated from his bronze as he was, it was a very, very small part. In all seriousness he was just glad there was a another female. Except.. Shit if Merridan won he’d be screwed. Unless he could outrun his brother. Yeaaah he was so not letting Mavenath even have a tiny bit more now. Getting mauled by M’kai was just. Oh Faranth no.

Thoughts about that where pushed to the very back of his mind however as Nephele approached again. Swallowing his eyes half lidded as she pushed herself against him fingers twitching where they hung at his sides. Damn. He wanted to touch but that was a big no, no in flights normally. Unless he won. Then he planned on returning any and all favors. When she pulled away he had to bite back a disappointed groan. Something in the way she froze clued him into the fact that something was up but he was reluctant to fuse more with Mavenath to see just exactly what it was that was causing the disturbance. Movement behind Nephele caused him to blink. Was that another new arrival? Who the hell was it this time?

[Rowana]

A pleased croon escaped Chaoth's throat. It was well that Nuoth was not too mad at him, even though he deserved it. Being late was not in his nature and he knew he would have to work hard to make up for it. Working hard, however, was something he enjoyed. The best rewards always went to those who tried hardest, in his opinion. And every male in this chase was more than worthy of Nuoth's attentions, he thought. Particularily this newest one. Chaoth could not recall him by name, but he didn't feel that the stranger was a threat. To chase the beautiful Nuoth in such a state was admirable beyond anything he could likely offer.

Chaoth circled back around to duck underneath Pettahth. He offered the other brown an encouraging croon as he passed and a nod of respect for his efforts. Then Chaoth caught the warm air and rose, careful not to disturb Pettahth with his wings. He climbed nearly straight up, his large wings easily catching the rising air as he went. Higher and higher after Nuoth, the shining jewel of the desert.

Merridan's eyebrows went up slightly, though she really wasn't surprised by Nephele's uncertainty. She shrugged, still smiling. It seemed the lovely lady had plenty of handsome choices besides her, but Mer was still pleased that Nephele did approach her. Mer ran her fingers delicately through Nephele's hair, resisting the urge to pull her close as she kissed. Such a teasing little female she was! Mer wandered in closer, growling slightly in her throat that M'kai got a bigger kiss. How was that fair? Then Nephele's attention was caught by another newcomer and Mer turned reflexively to see. Instinct, more than anything, had Mer stepping in easy reach to defend her female, hand on her dagger. This male didn't look pleased and Mer wasn't going to stand for anyone hurting Nephele right then. Only Chaoth's calm acceptance of the man's dragon, forced her not to just attack him on a whim.

[Ruby]

Well, that was... acceptable. M'kai's brain went on autopilot, allowing Nephele to pull him down to her level without even a hint of resistance. His arms came up again, but even deep in flightlust the Bluerider knew the rules - no holding, no grabbing, no catching without permission. Futh wasn't that sort of dragon, so neither was his rider, at the moment at least. While the sentiment was certainly there, the desire to have, she wasn't his to take, so M'kai put a hand - lightly, oh so lightly - on each of her hips, more for something to do with them than anything else.

Too soon, though, it was over, and poor, addled M'kai was left to his own devices. Something had startled the beautiful green, something that had Merridanchaoth getting all defensive and threatening with knives and made Nephelenuoth look like someone had just asked her a really hard question. It was a new dragon, that he knew, but not one he knew well in either form. Yes, K'sel had failed at not being noticed, although (at least in M'kai's case) he wasn't recognized, at least. The Bluerider still had enough of his wits about him, however, to know that this strange man's sudden appearance was downright odd, and he certainly needed to be watched. As much as he hated to, he wrenched his eyes away from Nephele, drifting closer to Cr'oph and sinking slightly so he could pounce on the newcomer if he caused problems. Sure, they were in the middle of the flight - so what? There would be no flight if anything happened to Nephele or Nuoth, and M'kai did not trust this hobo.

Futh, working hard to keep up with the green, didn't notice the rogue Brown until he came close to Nuoth in the sky. The blue was startled, to say the least, but Chaoth didn't seem worried, and neither did Mavenathtwin. If they were alright with it, Futh was too. He wasn't about to just give up Nuoth's attention, however, and Pettahth's size (nearly as small as Futh himself) put the Blue at a disadvantage again. Certainly the Brown was more agile, and clearly he was faster... but he had been late. Futh would just have to work harder and stand out. In an effort to gain Nuoth's notice again, Futh tilted his wings sideways, turning almost on a wingtip to execute a tight 360 degree turn as he rose. Sure, he wouldn't be the first to the top - that would go to Mavenathtwin with his extra altitude, or Pettahth with his speed - but he would look pretty doing it. Adding a forward roll that lost him quite a bit of ground but showed off the purple spots on his behind, he stretched his wings wide, hauling his chubby form up towards his own personal sun.

[Lotty]

So hard. It was so hard to keep pushing at the same level, but hindsight was always 20/20 now wasn't it? He knew that he shouldn't have been so foolish as to start off with such a bang as he did, but the brown did have a way of stretching out his energy much thinner than many ever dared to. It must have been that doggedness in him, and the encouraging croon from Chaoth that allowed him to scrape up something from the bottom of that so called barrel. Graciously Pettahth issued a short dip of his muzzle back at the other brown, it was relieving to see such displays of goodwill even after bursting onto the scene rather presumptively; the other was even cautious in his wing-work as now to sully any paths that he may have taken up towards the soaring Nuoth. Sliding lower and lower towards the ground, it began to look as if he was going the wrong way, all in search of that same flume of heat that propelled the other three. It was only after his talons drug against the sand and he buried himself in the resulting cloud of dust that he daringly reached his hind legs out to bounce off of a dune and dramatically propel himself again upwards - thermals be damned.

He would not be up at their level first, no, and he though he attempted to not get there last - nothing seemed to bring more attention, and negative attention at that - there were just some stark realities and for even as fast as he was, there was no way for him to bend space short of going between which was a very obvious way to get himself killed or at very least looked down upon. As it was he was left bringing up the rear and in all honesty it wasn't even a particularly memorable ascension save for the off chance that someone may have seen him push off of the sandy mounds of the desert. He caught what breaks he could and tried to rise at least smoothly, silently, with steady wingbeats and definite poise. Hanging for a moment he considered what move the green - his long lost friend - may make. Dive again? Well at least it was always easier to fall, but he'd probably attempt to follow her even if it was to the moons that she was aiming.

K'sel did not receive the same sort of welcome wagon that his dragon got, and halted in his slow approach to the blanket. It was like a chain reaction with Nephele picking up on his presence and then everyone else in tow. Cr'oph merely eyed him, Merridan going so far as to setting a hand on a hilt, and M'kai joining by falling into an almost feline sort of death crouch. Regardless he knew that the others meant business, but he ultimately has no desire for any sort of altercations... should he be stabbed he'd surely also be left there and picked apart by the scavenging avians. The brownrider ducked his head a bit, softened his expression, and took a step back, his hand vaguely moving to the side of his belt should he have to resort to defending himself, but there was no way he'd make the first move. He didn't need to be giving these competitors any undue attention anyway, he canted his head in trying to analyze the green's body language.

[Ember]

Nuoth actually did not pay any attention to her chasers' positions or antics as she rose higher. No, she already had her choice and nothing more would change it. To those who had not been chosen she gently brushed their minds with dismissal, although added an extra message for poor Pettahth who tried so hard for her sake. Pettahth, dear friend, thank you. I wish you well until the next time. In her words was definitely the desire to see him again. Surely after meeting up he would also come to their hidden weyr?

As her chosen male joined her she crooned appreciatively. He had given her quite a lot of effort. While she was certainly more attached to one of the other males he had also earned her favour. Futh could be her support this time around. She twined with him comfortably and let herself fall with him. Nephele's eyes caught on the...yeah, she wasn't gonna bother trying to describe him. She simply knew him and that would be enough for the moment. However, the others didn't have such knowledge. The small part of her that was still herself knew she only recognized him because Nuoth did.

The green turned her gaze away from the brown long enough to look at the others. That wouldn't do. "No fighting. He's safe." As Nuoth made her choice Nephele got mixed signals. That was confusing but...she wouldn't fight it. Couldn't, was more like it really. She walked over to M'kai and took his hand in hers, tugging on him gently. She didn't really think he'd refuse her. She needed his support right now...and the reason why was the next person she approached. She reached out a hand to K'sel, letting him choose. He was not obligated to keep her company though she would like that.

[Ruby]

Futh was, simply put, ecstatic. He had won Nuoth, a classmate and a lovely dragon indeed! He answered her croon with a triumphant bugle of his own, reaching out to twine his neck with hers. As soon as she touched his mind he had forgotten about the other dragons, Mavenathtwin included; they could care for themselves. He had a Nuoth to attend to. Flaring his wings to hold them both up, he did his best to be as light as possible, wanting the fall to last. Too bad he didn't have an extraordinary amount of wing area... but he did alright.

Far below, M'kai had relaxed his stance as soon as Nephele acknowledged the newcomer as safe. If she thought it was alright, he was fine with that. He even went so far as to take a step back - no reason to give the Green the wrong idea about where he stood, here. Flight seemed to be coming to a close, Futh needed all the help he could... oh. Suddenly, M'kai found his hand twined in with Nephele's, a gesture far more innocent than the rest of hers so far, a sure sign of dismissal... except apparently not. The added level of need that came from winning a flight came with that gentle pull, flooring M'kai's brain once again and making his body go on autopilot. He lengthened his strides to walk at her side, every fiber of his being struggling against the desire to simply pounce her. Once K'sel was invited and had made his choice, though, M'kai let himself relax, turning towards Nephele to entwine himself with her (oblivious to K'sel's participation or lack thereof) and pull her down towards the blanket. Success.