Up Where the Air is Clear [Kami & Shira's Flights]

[Ruby]

It was time! Kami let out an ear-splitting cr-rrr-rrreak, calling for her niece and the male razorclaws simultaneously. Raven had been a good mate, but Echo's daughter was mating for the first time, and in honor of that Kami was considering all possible males once again. She had been searching for an appropriate food gift for over a week, and had settled on a branch of berries - sweet, delicious, and nutritious to boot! She'd spent the rest of the week grooming, and she was ready. She knew from visits to Shira that the other razorclaw was ready as well. Time to fly!

Launching towards the desk, Kami picked up the berry branch in her claws, then stooped out the entrance to her nesting area (also known as M'kai's weyr), looking around for the other female. Shira should be joining her any moment, but Kami was eager to begin, so she started a loop of the smallest circle of the Weyr, kaaaaa-ing as she went. Her calls echoed around the Weyr bowl, so the males would no doubt hear her... as would any human or dragon attempting an afternoon nap.

As soon as the other female joined her, Kami headed out for the center of the Bowl, dancing in and around Shira's flight patterns at a dangerously fast pace. One wrong move on either of their parts and the two females would crash, but for now, they were dancing successfully. Good luck, males!

((In light of the fact that a quite a few of our male owners are busy/out at the moment, unbonded/wild razorclaws are welcome to join!))

[Rowana]

Shira preened the last of her stark, white feathers. It was nearly time and she wanted to look her best. She would be flying with Kami and while they were sure to have plenty of lucky males, she wanted the best to be hers. Kami's cries alerted her to the dwindling afternoon. She spread her wings and gave an echoing shriek, proudly displaying her beauty at the end of Merridan's weyrledge. It was time to fly! She took off, diving straight for the river. She had long decided on her gift. With a flick of her claws and a lucky grab, she snatch the fresh, silver fish and bore it aloft. Nothing like fresh fish for the lucky males!

Rising higher, Shira gliding gracefully to meet up with Kami as she circled the Weyr. Her own high cries joining those of the older females. It was time for the males to prove their worth! Shira was a gentle flyer, and preferred sweeping glides and rolls instead of the agile dance that Kami could display. In that they were well matched, providing a beautiful and dangerous air ballet for their audience. Once they were satisfied, the two females branched away from each other in opposite directions, forcing the males to choose one or the other.

Shira rose higher, soaring to great heights so she could survey her followers and whatever the brought to please her.

~

Small as he was, Tae was not going to let this opportunity pass him by. Let the other razorclaws think he was too small to compete for a mate. Was he not one of the fastest and most agile males around? Surly a female would be proud to have him sire her broad. So when Kami and Shira made their intentions clear, Tae was among the first to leap at the chance. He spiraled out of the weyrfolk apartments, whizzing at amazing speeds and carrying a sugared nut from the ones His kept in the pantry. Surly one nut would not be missed for a good cause.

Tae flew as he had never flow before, even burdened by the heavy nut. He twirled and danced as he flew, trying his best to keep pace with the large razorclaws. The female's dance thrilled him and inspired him to further display is own prowess in the air. He would follow Kami, the smaller and more agile of the two. They were alike, so he thought, and he could show her how well he could keep up with her dances. Keening his intentions, he soaring in Kami's wake, rolling to display is sweet offering to the lovely female.

[Ember]

Females were like clockwork for the razorclaw species. Gawain, having courted and impressed Echo the previous mating time, was quite in tune with the family group. He could have chosen to court one of the other females of the family group but there was something in chasing one of the two females bonded to the people. More protection for the young, although no self-respecting razorclaw pair would let their eggs be touched. Gawain picked at the corpse - or part of the corpse- of his offering to the females. Surely they'd like a brave bird, and Gawain himself was truly fearless.

When the call went up, Gawain took the back leg of the feline cub he'd killed earlier for the sole purpose of presenting it as a gift into his claws and launched himself off his perch. The smaller than average male passed Iskierka as he was coming out of the weyr and whistled in acknowledgement before he continued on his way. Shira, his own daughter, had joined Kami by the time he got there. He clicked both a greeting and an appreciation of their dance, performing a graceful one of his own despite the somewhat unweildy feline limb in his claws.

When the females split he creeeeked a fairwell and good luck to Shira for her first and flew after Kami. His daughter was a lovely female but still his daughter all the same. Besides, Kami was the sister of little baby Echo who he'd mated with previously. It seemed only right to pay her attention too.

[Avu]

He arrived in a modest flutter of wings, a dead wherry—a very young one, it was apparent, from its size alone if not the still-downy feathers of the six-limbed creature—clasped in his claws as he looped gracefully on a pleasant air current. Young enough to be naively enthusiastic, old enough to be experienced, the sleek, reddish-brown Razorclaw offered both females a polite click of his beak, fanning out wings tipped in inky black. Lovely, both of them, of course, but he could not court them both and ultimately the wildling clicked his beak decisively at Shira, dropping his body in a fast, fancy midair loop to catch her attention before rolling to display his macabre gift for her.

The wildling’s soft cree-ek hummed in his throat, almost a song (but he was by no means a songbird and did not intend to court Shira that way) as he flipped himself right-side up again to push higher in Shira’s wake. Did not wait to see if he had other competition, yet—it would be nice if he did, of course, and if there was one as large as to match him no doubt they could dance for Shira together as she and Kami had, but that could wait.

[Tashe]

If Thross hadn't been part of the first generation, many might have assumed he was a female, if only for his unusually large size. Spreading his wings, the Razorclaw used the branch as a spring and launched himself into the air, scaring a mother Treehopper away from her almost grown baby. That of course, was the mother's fatal mistake. He dove and with a flash of his claws and a twist of his beak, he had a meal. Or, at least he thought he had a meal. The mating shriek of a female kin swiveled his head toward where it had come from. Quickly he vacated the branch, the mother had returned with revenge on her mind, and flapped his way through the canopy with a crreeaaa and a flurry of off-white feathers. More calls met his senses, building a well remembered profile in his head. He knew Kami, but the other female was a stranger to him. But her calls definitely placed her in their family clan.

By the time he arrived, brown tips and all, there were already three males who populated the airspace around the two females. Keeeaaaa! Selecting an air current, he allowed it to drift him close to his kinsister, to pay his respects with a chirp, before dropping out of it to roll over to the younger female. Clicking his black tipped beak with a Kreeee, he drifted past the wilding male. Both of the females were obviously viable candidates for him, but today, he would chase the one who was slightly bigger. Rolling so Shira could see the treehopper he had brought, Thross dove so that he passed the Wilding's left wing and rolled so that he passed underneath the other male's belly, calling to him good sportedly. They all would have a good, flight yes?

[Aftershock]

The dark brown male cocked his head slightly, pausing in his meal of a freshly-caught crawlie, when he heard Kami's loud call. Pecking down once more to dig out the delicious liver of the creature, he let the remainder drop from the branch he was perched on and took flight, the dark green markings along his back helping him blend in with the surrounding foliage as he flew towards the source of the call. Spotting a tunnelsnake emerging from a crack in the cliff wall on his way, he dove down and slammed into it, breaking it's back before he snatched it up in his claws, the twitching body only slightly throwing off his flight as he neared the Weyr.

He normally avoided the area, not enjoying the strange two-legged featherless creatures and the gigantic firelizards they sometimes flew upon the backs of, but this was a flight, and the wild razorclaw would risk it for the two beautiful domestics that he saw fly into the sky, then split away from each other. Flapping in place for a moment, trying to decide who to chase, he finally decided on larger Shira. The wildling was a strong specimen, and he figured the larger female would provide a larger clutch of eggs. Flying near the female, he banked up as he approached her, flipping to display the dark-green markings along his back before flipping over again, displaying the now-still tunnelsnake dangling from his black talons.

Shifting one foot, the wildling cawwed loudly, then bent himself nearly in half, using his beak to open up the side of the tunnelsnake so it's delicious liver would poke out, showing the female the quality of his gift. Shifting the foot again to keep the organ from falling out, he began circling the white female, showing his entry into this chase.

[Rowana]

Shira circled higher in the sky, gazing down at the three males who chose to chase her. They were strong specimens certainly and they had come prepared. Thross was familiar and a fine flyer. The other two were strangers, but no less impressive. Shira gave a pleasant keen and dove in a gentle circle to examine their gifts. The brown wildling was first. She swooped fast at him fondly, close enough to snatch a piece of his wherry. What a strong male to bring her such a prey.

Circling Thross next, she congratulated him for his cleverness. Not all razorclaws had the skill to catch treehoppers. He was certainly a handsome one as well, Shira crooned as she snatched a taste. The second wildling was also an impressive sight, particularly with the green spots that made him stand out as something special. He would have to do more than show off his colors to win a mate, though his gift was certainly a good start. She snatched at the snake liver appreciatively, before dropping into a stoop.

Falling fast, Shira shrieked her intentions to the males behind her. They would have to work hard to impress he enough to be her mate. Pretty colors and fancy gifts were not all a good male needed. The ground was approaching fast, and Shira flared her wings to soar over the grassy meadow and into the trees. It was harder to fly under the canopy, but she made a few graceful turns around trees before rising above their leaves. She rolled gracefully, surveying her followers with a critical air of confidence. Time they showed her what kind of males they really were.

((I'll post Tae after Ruby goes, so don't get excited that I'm posting twice so fast!))

[Ruby]

As Shira circled away from her, Kami looked back and cooed, delighted. Tae and Gawain had made a good choice - she was smaller and faster, and so were they. They had chosen according to their strengths, and Kami was pleased that they both knew those strengths and wished to use them to their advantage. Smart males. Circling back towards Shira, Kami led her flock back across the path of her niece's males, so all of the chasers would have to duck and dodge around each other before she considered their offerings.

Glancing back to make sure Gawain and Tae had come out of that unscathed, Kami flared her large wings, stalling out mid-air. Dropping about a foot, she re-arranged her branch so she was holding it in one clawed foot instead of both. Swooping beneath Tae, she stole the sugary treat, tapping it with her beak and nibbling a bit off before swirling back over the little brown male and dropping the nut. It should be easy for him to catch it - she wasn't quite ready to exchange gifts yet, but neither was she rejecting his offering.

Gawain's gift, too, was interesting. Kami usually restricted her diet to tunnel snakes, rodents, and wherries, but feline was new to her. She'd attempted to herd one back to her nesting grounds at some point, but the thing had tried to eat her (horror of horrors), so she'd given up. It had tried to eat her, so it only seemed fair that she should have a bite of it, or something like it. Passing under they gray razorclaw this time, she snatched a bite of meat, considering.

Well. Both excellent gifts, and Kami sung her pleasure as she followed her niece towards the forest. Shira headed under the trees, but Kami was looking for agile fliers - time to give them a harder test. Plunging straight in to the canopy, Kami tucked and rolled through a maze of branches, bursting out into the clear sky for a moment before plunging back in. Come on, males! Impress her!

[Aftershock]

The green-marked wildling let loose a loud crr-rrr-rreak at Shira as she snatched the tunnelsnake liver, releasing his foot from it so she could pull it away. Replacing his talons once she was free, he watched her drop down, and into the trees. Once she had resurfaced and called out her challenge to the males, the wildling took immediately to it, dropping as she had and flaring his wings at the last moment, skimming so close to the ground that the trailing head of his tunnelsnake was ripped free by a thick rootling, and he left a trail of blood from the tunnelsnake's neck stump as he flew into the foliage. Due to his markings, he had always found a home more in the jungle than along the cliffs, and he closely circled first one trunk, then another, the quickly-depleting trail of blood from his catch painting a spattered red ribbon around each trunk.

Following this, he took to the open air once more, moving up into the sky until he was nearly level with Shira, then releasing his present. Hovering for a moment as his prize dropped, he then folded his wings and fell into a dive, chasing the headless corpse as it fell, then snatching it in his beak at the last second before it struck the ground, flaring his wings and flapping into the air once more, dropping the cadaver from his beak into his talons as he flew up to where Shira hovered, giving a somewhat breathless crr-rrr-rrrrrreak to the white razorclaw female as he flapped and glided around her.

[Avu]

The wildling offered Thross a peasant chatter as he spun in his aerial dance to loop around the other male; he spent enough time around the Weyr even after the people had come to be comfortable with the tamer of his kin, even if he remained shy to the actual humans. It pleased him that others should come to answer Shira’s call, and he offered the other wildling a pleasant enough creee of welcome as well, looping low below Shira and then spun wide to expose his belly and talons for her when she dove for his prey, flaring his wings for balance and chattering in pleased affection, curling around to watch her approach the other males in order.

He followed Shira intently, flipped sideways to dodge around one of the other female’s males when their flight paths crossed, and slid confidently after the female into the trees, accustomed to hunting in the strange tangles of light and leaves. He blinked twice to adjust to the dimness and offered a singsong kreeet for Shira’s benefit, twirling as they returned to open sky and then dipping closer to Thross and chirruping in an invitation to dance together for Shira He did not wait for an actual response, but instead twirled in a graceful maneuver, calling for Thross to mirror him.

[Ember]

Gawain danced in and around the other males as Kami lead him across Shira's followers. The small male made a challenging crrreekt at the wild males before turning his attention back to Kami. He watched her examine Tae's gift and knew she'd come check his out soon enough. He shifted the leg in his claws so that it'd be easier for her to get a nibble of a choice part. Like the part that used to be attached to the full animal...

He whistled almost pleasantly when Kami did come by, shifting momentarily to a short glide so he wouldn't disrupt her flight too much. Gawain rode the air she brought with her and rolled with it. He pulled out and took note of their trajectory. Ah, the forest. He preferred hunting closer to the mountain - his grey blended better there - but he was not stranger to the forest either.

Observant and smart, Gawain almost immediately spotted an opening just big enough for him and he plunged through it without fear of what lay on the other side of that gap. He swerved between branches with an eye for the dangerous as well as one for Kami's relative position. He twisted through a branch to pass through air Kami just had, a playful series of clicks announcing his presence. While he could have passed in front he did not wish to potentially put her in danger by surprising her.

[Tashe]

Thross, unlike the other wilding was minutely more wary of the brown and green Wilding. At least the reddish brown one looked as if he might be part of their colony, as far as the male could remember green wasn't a predominate color for them. He didn't greet the other one but he didn't try and rebuff him, which was an act of nicety within itself. Thross tended to be a bit territorial when it came to other colonies. Chirping as Shira came to pay him some attention, he flicked his wings and shifted his tail so he could roll and present his present to her. Treehoppers weren't too difficult to catch, if you knew how to scare them out of hiding. Flapping, he turned a tight circle as he waited for her to welcome the third chaser, settling somewhere in between patience and impatience to start.

Dropping into a dive when the female called for them to do so, Thross opened his wings moments later to slow his decent and avoid a collision with Gawain. Angling himself to shoot through the gaps between chasers, the white and brown male caught up to the green marked wilding before pulling out of the dive to skim the long grasses in the meadow. Pumping his wings he picked up lost speed and flew into the tree line, gently gliding his way between the tree trunks, rolling or swooping to avoid the occasional vine or branch. Kakraaa! They were leaving? Turning on a Mark, Thross climbed up through the canopy (nearly clipping a wing on a hidden branch) and shot up through the tree tops with a few leaves stuck between his feathers.

Chreeee. He called to the black marked wilding as he dipped down to his level, beak clicking in intrigue. Mirroring the other male's maneuver, he took to a climb straight after... then passed over the other male with another click of his beak, before diving with a small twist. All the while keeping tabs on Shira, so as to make sure she did not get too far away from them. Kreekaaaa!

[Ruby]

Both of her chasers were good birds, that was clear, but one stood out more than the other. Both gifts had pleased her (not that Kami was hard to please, but there were a few choices that would have gotten chasers dismissed, and neither Tae nor Gawain had made that mistake), and both had shown their agility and daring, but... well, Gawain had already shown that he was capable of fathering good, healthy children, and Kami loved babies. In this case, she decided to go with a proven father - if she helped Gawain get over the pain of losing his mate, so much the better. Kami liked to help.

With a final kaaaa in Shira's direction, she announced that her decision had been made. Breaking the canopy once again, the small female cooed to Tae - he had been a lovely chaser, and the nut was delicious, she hoped he would come again - then swooped down towards Gawain, dropping her berry cluster and rolling underneath him to take the rest of the feline haunch from her chosen male's claws. She'd finish it in the air, so she would have the energy to fly as long as possible - longer flight meant more chances for babies. Calling back over her shoulder to Gawain, she invited the male to fly with her, winging out over the canopy now in a much more relaxed fashion. He'd impressed her already, no need to tire himself... quite yet, anyway.

[Rowana]

Shira keened appreciatively. Her males were very impressive. It would be hard to choose the best mate. Yet the courting was growing long and her energy was draining. It was time to end this while they all had energy to fly. She circled, rising higher and surveying her males with sharp eyes. The green toned wild male was very skilled. His tricks were skilled and inventive. She liked cleverness in a male and he certainly seemed quite clever. Thross was a handsome male and she could already tell he would defend her well. His children were certain to be strong as well.

Yet it was the first wild male who struck her fancy. Perhaps it was his willingness to please her. Perhaps it was his fun loving nature that didn't even allow him to grow feisty with the other males. Whatever the reason, Shira adored him today. He was obviously a good hunter and certainly a large, powerful razorclaw. Yes, he would be her choice. Keening her intentions to the other males, she dove for the red brown wildling. He could fly with her now, she cooed softly. Drawing near, she offered her fish, circling in a playful dance. Now the sky was all for them.