Practice makes perfect (Open)

[Rei]

Kaaoloth twirled in the air to complete the barrel roll his had encouraged him to do. Very good Kaao now picture a bronze darting at you from underneath. Kaaoloth snarled and dipped his wing rolling his body to the left so the imaginary bronze would come up to empty air, then he folded his wings and dropped below the bronze to come at him from behind. Sel’n grinned form atop the beast’s back, Not bad. Kaaoloth rumbled in agreement. Sure it seemed a bit pointless to practice dragon battle maneuvers in times of peace, but they had fought Benden dragons at Fort. Selenitas was not as isolated from the whole mess as it wished to think.

Benden would come. Give them time and they would come. The Weyrling massacre should have shown them that as well as the Weyrwoman’s kidnapping. Benden would try again and you wouldn’t catch him unprepared. Kaaoloth glided on a thermal as he waited for further instructions. His brown hide rippled with muscle. If anything at least the practice was keeping Kaaoloth fit. The brown had a tendency to overindulge on his herd beasts. Lazy glutton.

Kaaoloth suddenly veered to the right causing Sel’n to grab at the flight straps with his good arm. “Hey!” He grumbled at the brown giving his neck a slight kick. You should watch what you say Selmine. You eat well to. If you are not careful you will be as fat as some of the laziest browns I know. Sel’n snorted but patted his beast’s neck affectionately earning a pleased rumble from the brown.

[Tashe]

He was angry, no furious, and the worst part of it for everyone... was that he had no reason to be. He was tired of doing nothing but watch and healer duty, Selenitas didn't even have flight games to keep the people occupied! Even Ismaroth was getting antsy, the normally indifferent Brown was on edge, snapping at almost everything that even brushed against his nerves. If the two couldn't find something out of the ordinary to do, there would be no doubt, that either or both of them would pick a ruthless fight with someone. Growling spitefully at a passing drudge, E'rro barred his teeth until the frightened man sped up and disappeared through one of their many service hallways. It wasn't long until the rest of the Infirmary staff and helpers knew that the Brownrider was in an exceptionally foul mood, earning him an empty corridor and records office that he had wanted. Not only that, but the current shift leader told him to leave and only come back when his attitude wouldn't scare the patients more than normal.

Kicking his leg into the stirrup strap, E'rro lifted himself into his Leathers, hissing as he strapped himself in. /Lets go./ Yes. We need to fly, or I swear, we will both go insane. I truly despise this Weyr Ismaroth, I can't believe you force me to stay. /Its a fine Weyr, and I don't force you anymore! Gah. I'm to ill-tempered at the moment to discuss this with you Mine. You'd do well to not speak of it./ Whatever. Up.

----

The wind ripped at his riding coat, tried to snatch at his hair, and stung his cheeks, but the stinging felt good. It was a battle against the sky, against what the high speed winds in the higher altitudes could throw at them. Surprisingly, the Brownpair were making headway through the gusty level, but it certainly wasn't a walk in the park. It was risky flying that high, the air was thinner and the temperature was colder, but E'rro knew exactly where the safety zone was. /Look Ermine, can you see them?/ Looking down, the Brownrider frowned slightly, seeing nothing but fleeting shapes. What? /The Dragonpair above the training Fields. It looks like they're executing battle manuvers.../ Battle techniques? Odd, since the Senelitasites never seemed inclined to practice such stunts often. Bring us down, lets see if they want a partner. /Us? But Ermine, you never want to interact with anyone./ I never do. But Brown, we can fight, and according to you... it looks as if they can fight too. I can stand preforming drills, if they know what they are doing. /I suppose it will let you vent your unneeded anger./

Taking shallow breaths until they reached warmer thermals, E'rro yawned, not particularly excited or disappointed about training with another dragonpair. Fighting drills were fighting drills, whether with an occupant of Selenitas or a trained fighter from Benden or Fort. His gaze focused on the rider of the other Brown as they dropped into a hover a good dragon length away, frowning slightly as he inspected him while Ismaroth contacted the Rider's Dragon. He was older, probably around his middle thirties, which placed his Dragon into the Seasoned category. The Brown was large, a few feet longer than Ismaroth himself, who was himself considered long for a Brown. Ismaroth might not be as muscular as the older Brown, but he certainly was lighter and looked as if he could be more maneuverable. This would be an interesting match up...

--

/Hail. We wish to know, if you could use sparring partners for your practicing. We are well versed in the ways of Battle, and extend an offer of friendly Combat to you and Yours, Brownbrother. If you wish not, then we shall be on our way./ Flapping his wings to keep him in the air, Ismaroth bobbed his head in a formal greeting, keeping his distance from the other male so he could size him up for himself. Adding his own input to the facts that where rolling around His's mind, agreeing to the thought of an interesting battle. Even if he could keep it a Mock one...

[Rei]

Kaaoloth saw the brown before Sel’n did and swung around to face the newcomers. Sel’n raised an eyebrow as Kaaoloth rumbled a greeting. Mine they want to know if we will consent to spare with them? Shall we? The rider could feel the excitement in his beast's tone. Hold on Kaao who are these two? They can’t possibly be from Selenitas. The rider studied the pair carefully. They had a confident air about them and the rider seemed familiar in a way. Had they fought in the war?

Kaaoloth trembled slightly in anticipation, They sound like they might be from Benden mine. The brownone hailed me as brownbrother. He is very formal like the Benden dragons when they cared to speak at all. Sel’n nodded although his dragon could not have possibly seen the gesture. A Benden deserter? This was sure to be interesting. Tell them we will accept their challenge but we break at first ichor. I do not want to be responsible for a dragon betweening. Kaaoloth crooned in agreement and touched the brown’s mind.

Hail brownbrother. I am Kaaoloth. Selmine and I accept your challenge but ask that we stop at first ichor. Mine wishes no harm to befall either pair. After the statement the large brown trumpeted a battle call and folded his wings. Sel’n and Kaaoloth dropped like a stone and leveled out below the pair. The rider gave a wide grin.

You ready Kaao. Always. His dragons reply was strong and confidant but this pair looked to be a good match. At the very least they would both get a workout. He just hoped he could restrain Kaaoloth. Sometimes when his beast got to excited he forgot it was just a drill.

[Tashe]

/Kaaoloth of the Human Sel'n. They wish to set a term, we stop at first Ichor. Do you accept?/ I do. /Good./

/I am Ismaroth one with the Rider E'rro. We accept your terms. At first Ichor we will break. If by accident an injury occurs, I offer up that Mine is a Dragonhealer./

We must not pull all of our tricks out in the beginning. I want to preform Solo Fight Formation B. Flaring his wings to catch a chance gust of wind, the younger Brown returned the battle trumpet with one of his own, rising higher as the other male sunk lower. Ismaroth paused for a few crucial moments, waiting for the start command from His. Wait... wait... execute. Snarling, the Brown swiveled his pinions and fell into a stable dive, angling himself toward the three-legged brown with precise movements. They would feign for the neck, and go for the tail. If they wanted Ichor first, the tail is easily the least guarded section, it was whether or not the other Rider knew that that could prevent them from getting to it quick enough.

Short sparing matches at Benden were always close range aerial battles, and to call them intense was to do them no justice. There, you didn't have to worry about injuring the Dragon you where fighting against, but here... there was a lot more to take into consideration. Under the terms the Brownpair had agreed to, it was nearly impossible to go all out. They would have to reign in some of their tactics, of which amounted to small scrapes and dodges. They were used to Caninefight battles, which were dirty, rough and as quick as possible while killing as many as you could. At Benden, even the Weyrling wing he belonged to had to get used to that type of fighting fast, since the men and women they were fighting against were fully grown fighters.

Altering the level of the joint knob on his right wing, Ismaroth extended his claws as he drew closer to Kaaoloth and his Rider. The Brown was excited, he couldn't help but be anything less, the feeling had been bred into him. Most Benden Dragons loved the thrilling sensation that a Battle stirred up, it was like a heightened form of adrenaline. Ismaroth knew that for this scuffle, he would have to carefully gage, not only the opponent, but himself as well. He couldn't get to into the battle, unless he breaks the terms of agreement and tries to do more damage than he is allowed. His was right, this was only the beginning of the battle, neither Rider nor dragon wanted their opponents to assess their true abilities right away. For the moment, Ismaroth decided to play a game of dart and strike, nothing too fancy right from the top. He also knew not to underestimate the three-legged Kaaoloth, he wasn't sure exactly how well he could fight, since he had never fought against a crippled Dragon before.

[Rei]

Kaaoloth rumbled as Ismaroth offered his rider’s services. Selmine Ismaroth says that his is a Dragonhealer. If an accident occurs he offers treatment. The rider watched as their opponents flew above them. If we are not careless that won’t happen. You recognize this pattern to? Sel’n asked his beast resisting the urge to close his eyes against the glare of Rukbat. Yes mine. They are defiantly from Benden. Let us see how much they know. Kaaoloth growled as Ismaroth began his dive. Where would he choose to strike?

Sel’n watched the pair dive towards them and felt Kaao shift. We have to be careful if they force us onto the defensive we will be forced to stay there more than likely. Don’t give them much room to hassle you. He felt the affirmative from his beast as Kaao caught an updraft and rose to intercept the pair.

The brown wasn’t going to wait around and be attacked. No better if he met the offensive head on. The brown gave a sweep of his large wings and then angled them to let the wind carry him closer. He bared his teeth, his eyes taking on the barest trace of red. This was going to be fun. A lot better than waiting around for nothing to happen.

As he drew closer to the pair he swung off the updraft and let his momentum carry him the rest of the way. As he pulled abreast of the pair he folded is forearm against his body and struck out with his back legs as he shot past the pair. He didn’t wait to see if he made contact. He knew he could not have for he purposely left room for error. The question was did they other beast see it?

The large brown gave one sweep of his wings which was sufficient enough to carry him just past Ismaroth. Sel’n turned to assess their opponent’s position. They had had plenty of room and time to avoid Kaaoloth’s maneuver. Right now they were just testing their movement range. The real battle would come later. The rider wore a large grin as Kaaoloth swung around on his wingtip to again face their opponents.

[Tashe]

Of course the other Brownpair wasn't going to sit idly by and let them attack, it would have been to much to ask. Flexing his talon adorned toes, Ismaroth tracked the three-legger's movements as he came closer, the Brown not veering off of his path. Close and closer his opponent drew, but as soon as Kaaoloth began to rise and fold his leg, he thrashed his tail to the side. Swiveling his right wing and thrusting it downward, Ismaroth lazily rolled to the side, exposing his claws as the other brown passed over. That tactic was obviously not meant to hit, the distance between their claws had been to far away for a direct hit. These lazy, judgment moves where boring, and Ismaroth wanted to pick up the tempo. Righting himself a moment later, Ismaroth preformed an arch in the process, pumping his wings and doubling the speed he had been drifting at.

Kaaoloth would have to react fast if he wanted to prolong the fight, for both members of the younger team knew they would catch up momentarily. They were about **two Dragons' lengths away when Sel'n turned, causing Ismaroth to nash his teeth in amusement, trying to unsettle the man at their suddenly close appearance. Using a thermal current that was slightly to their left, the Brown shot forward once again, rising slightly before angling his body into a turn. Wings closing slightly to make the turn-and-dive faster, Ismaroth snarled as he reached out toward Kaaoloth, slashing at the older Brown when his instincts called for. At the same time, the younger male twisted marginally, so he could smash his tail into his opponent's side, just in case his claws didn't find their mark. Though it was no sure thing his tail would hit, but it could, if the other was too concentrated on his talons to notice.

Shooting past the male with the excess speed from his short dive, Ismaroth lifted his right wing and swung around, legs extended in case of a quick counterstrike from Kaaoloth. It was only to be expected, since it was he himself had done it, but he didn't see the flash of Brown as soon as he completed the turn... He'd go straight after the old one once more, in their attempt to force them into a purely defensive position, giving His an advantage.



(Note: **two browns' lengths, roughly 60 or so feet)

[Rei]

Battle maneuvers always seemed to happen quicker than you planed and instinct always seemed to play a larger part than actual planning. Sel’n saw the pair coming and barely had time to warn Kaao. As Ismaroth stuck out with his claws Kaaoloth parried with his back claws, aware of the other browns tail Kaaoloth was able to angle his bulk to avoid a direct hit although the tip did make contact, it did little more than sting.

Directly after the maneuver was completed by the opponent Kaaoloth blinked Between and reappeared above the pair heralded by a breath of cold air. Folding his wings and angling his back talons he struck at the pairs flank. If the move didn’t connect he planned to whip around and strike with teeth and front foreclaw.

The fact that he had three legs put Kaaoloth at a distinct disadvantage in one on one battles. A fact that never seemed to worry the brown but gave Sel’n misgivings. Yet Kaao had pulled through many a battle unscathed ,for the most part, despite his lack of a pair of front talons.

Kaaoloth was old and wise what he lacked in weapons he made up for in brains and instinct. Nevertheless Sel’n was worried. They had not fought in a actual or mock battle since leaving Fort and he was sure Ismaroth and E’rro had had more practice recently. Still for this being his first battle in 2 years Kaao was none to shabby. His wealth of experience came in handy. After all he had been fighting in one way or another his entire life.

[Tashe]

Ismaroth turned just in time to see Kaaoloth Between. So they weren't the only ones here who used that tactic... a blast of cold air above him, announced the arrival of the other Brownpair. Luckily, E'rro had been expecting an attack from above, and had sent a picture in response. Shifting between, Ismaroth stayed in the void for a split second, re-emerging a good distance from where they had originally been. The had come out of the Between in the position they had entered it in, allowing them to watch Kaaoloth strike thin air instead of his intended target. Ismaroth was sure that the mock Battle would get more interesting, now that both pairs knew the other had been trained in Between-maneuvers, affectionately called by E'rro Shifting-tactics. Another picture appeared in his mind, and the younger Brown Betweened once more, appearing from the void near Kaaoloth's tail.

Striking out with his claws, Ismaroth twisted into small dive, leveling out under the Brown and lashing out again before streaking away from his opponent. Both attacks were moderately easy to avoid if Kaaoloth moved correctly. Climbing higher and gaining altitude, Ismaroth kept up a fast pace as E'rro turned his head to look for their opponents. /The real battle has begun./

[Rei]

Kaaoloth snarled as Ismaroth appeared from between and struck at him. He dipped his wing and flapped the other hard, causing him to drift enough so the claws missed by inches. Sel’n watched the pair's dive and warned Kaaoloth just in time for him to pump his wings and shoot up causing the next attack to hit thin air as well.They fight well, the rider said as his brown quickly gave chase, his eyes beginning to whirl a deep crimson. The large brown snarled and snapped at the retreating pairs tail before Sel’n mentally reined him in to a distance where he could better judge the movement pattern of their opponents.

Giving him a picture, Kaaoloth blinked between to appear under Ismaroth. The large brown rolled and struck out with back talons dipping into a dive before righting himself. Sel’n glanced above him to gauge if Kaaoloth’s attack had hit or not. If it had not he would have to be on his toes to intercept any attack that came from above. Kaaoloth whipped his head back, snarled and suddenly shot forward making Sel’n grab at the straps. Kaao give me a warning next time. He shot sourly at his dragon.