a walking corpse like me. [Baoth's Maiden Flight]

[Rei]

Kaaoloth half-watched Ahth as the blue corkscrewed around him. No part of him was put off or threatened by the gesture but he did find it amusing. As Ahth broke off and checked his decent the brown allowed himself to fall just a bit further before opening his wings to slow his own fall.

Eyes whirling in shades of purple, the brown sought out the shimmering green object that was Baoth and focused there. Beating his wings in carefully measured strokes, he gained a bit more altitude before following well below her. Her speed was such that the brown knew he could not follow. So Kaaoloth did not attempt such. It would be foolish and a waste of energy. He had been through enough flights to know that. Instead he caught a thermal and rose with it until he was well above the chasers and Baoth. There he followed at a pace more suitable to his size.

Kaaoloth was farther away then the quicker chasing blues, but instinctively he knew that he would not be the only chaser left behind by her speed. Dsoleth was in his size category and so he too would be slowed. They where not far enough back to be completely disregarded, but they would have to make up distance. That shouldn’t be a problem. When Baoth eventually tired he would have plenty in reserve to make up lost ground. With measured ease he did a slow barrel roll and quicken his speed, just enough to hold his current distance.

Then the beauty was falling.

With a bugle the brown snapped his own wings shut and fell like a stone in her wake. There was no way he could physically pull off the very same maneuver that he had watched the smaller green perform so beautifully. So he decided to pull off his own. As the river drew closer he calculated and checked his speed and trajectory by half unfurling his wings and whipping his tail to the left. Just at the right moment Kaaoloth flung his large wings open fully, all but stopping his headlong fall. The concussive air blasts from his large wings cause the water to ripple spectacularly below him and with a tail slap to the surface of the water he swung around. His turn was no where near as graceful as hers but it was efficient. As he began to follow Baoth again he kept low enough to the water’s surface to drag wing tips across the liquid on each down stroke.

This flight was quickly turning out to be one of the better ones he had participated in. A very clever green was Baoth. Quite a prize if he was lucky enough to catch.

Sel’n did a human version of a rumble. The noise meant to show appreciation as K’lir turned to regard them all. Such a graceful, beautiful green was Baoth. Clever as well. Definitely worth his chasing. As K’lir/Baoth moved away Sel’n took a step forward, not wishing to lengthen even the small amount of distance that was between them. The smile and crouch had him tensing for movement. What would his beautiful beloved do? Her words took all the guesswork out of it. What was this nonsense? Ahth thought himself better? Better than Baoth who stood before them all in glory? Hissing Sel’n’s eyes flicked to his competitors. Would they all let Ahth pretend to be the better? Surely not.

As K’lir moved and dashed out of the room Sel’n followed hot on his heels. To Ahth they would go. It was only right that Ahth played too. How else would Baoth ever pick if she did not have all her chasers to play with. Ahth should not have made the clever green wait.

[Ruby]

Futh simply chirped back at Behruth, not wanting to waste time or energy on a more elaborate greeting. The brown was filed away in the Blue's mind, however, in case Futh ever ran into him again. He'd have to thank Behruth for his friendly gesture! But now was not the time. As much as he might like to talk to Behruth in the future, what Futh wanted to do with now was beat the brown. And beat him he would. Right?

His non-flying half nodded in agreement, eyes fixed on K'lir. He matched the Green's bow with a flourishing one of his own, falling into familiar patterns with a smile. Oh yes, M'kai knew this dance, and he was quite adept at it. Next came mutual interest, followed by feigned indifference, followed by- but no. It was Baoth who was leading today, and she would set the pace. M'kai would follow, defer to her steps. So he crouched when she did, matching smile for smile. She would show him what to do.

The mention of Ahth made M'kai growl deep in his throat, voicing an opinion of his roommate's Blue that Futh would never even consider. "Certainly not better than us," M'kai spat, then let his face break into a decidely sinister smile as K'lir went on. He liked R'ahre well enough, but at the moment it was only Ahth that mattered, and making Ahth look bad was 100% good for Futh. So when K'lir took off towards R'ahre's weyr, M'kai followed, long legs making it easy to keep up. There was no skip in his stride, but he stuck to K'lir like a burr, refusing to let his green out of his sight.

Futh was not having quite such good luck. He wasn't struggling from lack of endurance, but he simply could not keep up with the speed at which Baoth changed directions. Every time she did, it took an extra foot or so to catch up, and those extra feet added up quickly. So by the time she plunged toward the river, Futh was a good length or so behind the other chasers. Luckily, falling was one of his strong suits.

With a huge beat of his wings, he folded them to his back, falling at an angle rather than straight down. Thermals and air currents that might buffet other dragons didn't touch him- he was solid as a rock dropping through the air. Barrelling towards the river, he pulled up fairly early, using his momentum to barely skim the river's surface with his toes before slingshotting him back up, where he leveled out above the river and the other chasers. It was true, it WAS harder to keep track of the dark dragon against the darkening river, especially in territory he did not know. He'd have to be extra careful now, or he'd hit a tree. That certainly wouldn't endear him to Baoth.

[Avu]

Mixed reaction. He hadn’t meant to actually offend Baoth; his only intentions had been to urge her to go faster – make it harder for Futh to keep up. Sabotage? Not really; just playing up his opponent’s weaknesses, and it was Futh that Ahth had decided was his opponent. It was what Baoth had insinuated, and it was because of that that the conclusion had come about. He did want to win, did Ahth, and he did think he was better than any of the others that had showed up, but if he couldn’t, then it also couldn’t be Futh. On one hand, he thought Baoth far too intelligent to ever consider picking Futh, but the safest way was to simply eliminate the other blue completely without actually appearing to do so.

Baoth being upset with him because of it was a downside, of course, but he’d take what he could get. As Ahth twirled upwards, a sudden sharp turn that drew a faint twinge from his muscles, he spared his blue clutchbrother a glance, eyes narrowing faintly in Futh’s direction before he flared his wings, propelling himself higher, faster, body literally snaking upwards. His body was designed for speed. Going up, very quickly, was harder, of course, than flying parallel to the ground, but he was still fast. No longer was he twirling or corkscrewing; now he was just keeping up to the best of his ability.

And she dropped, and Ahth’s tail slashed upwards, the blue twisting and closing both of his wings entirely and slicking them back as he dropped into a nose-dive, with only an occasional brief flutter of his wings to check his speed as his serpentine body cut easily through the air. His intentions were not, after all, to crash headlong into the ground because he was too eager to be right on Baoth’s tail to think clearly. The ground grew nearer, fast, and a warning that was only half-conscious registered in his mind; R’ahre –

Don’t hurt your wings.

His tail flicked upwards again, the blue propelling himself forward and into a forward roll, wings checking his speed as soon as he’d righted himself again; his momentum shot him upwards. Ahth curled into another tight upwards corkscrew, regaining some altitude before he found an acceptable wind that carried him roughly in the direction Baoth was following. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but it still gave him an extra edge to his speed. Of course, it would probably help more if R’ahre stopped resisting him and lent him strength, but –

No.
Apologies, MyR’ahre, I was unaware that it is unacceptable for me to want what all of the /others/ undoubtedly possess.
Just – no.

But every silky word made it harder to resist and Ahth knew it, actively pressing on their bond. In the weyr, R’ahre actually shivered, closing his eyes tightly and inhaling deeply; his head tilted back and his lips parted slightly before they pressed together. His hands still stroked Sylph, rhythmically, but the touch was no longer keeping him rooted. The Salamandyr was slipping between his fingers. She was the wind that slid beneath the membrane that spanned long wings, the spray of water from the river, the fading warmth of the day and –

Stop it –
Stop what?

Two words, and that was all it took. R’ahre’s eyes snapped open, and narrowed, flicking around the weyr unseeingly before he dropped Sylph into his lap and reached back to brace his hands on the floor on either side of himself, pushing himself into first a kneeling position, and then a standing one, slowly, ignoring Sylph’s hiss of displeasure as the green dove for the door, probably to seek out either Skink or Merce. A half-frown passed across his features before he burst into movement – quick, graceful, confident steps took him towards the hall, instinctively towards K’lir – towards Baoth –

He hadn’t been banking on a door. R’ahre hadn’t ever gone under Flightlust before and while part of his mind was vaguely aware that he could not, indeed, fly and wasn’t actually there and that there were physical aspects of his situation that varied from Ahth’s, it wasn’t dominant enough yet. Fortunately for him, R’ahre had not gained much speed yet as he crossed his weyr, feeling wings sprout and spread and soar, and – ran into the door.

A curse escaped his lips, Ahth’s mental laughter darting like quicksilver in and out of his mind, as he momentarily regained control and took two steps back, staring blankly at the door as one hand rose absently to rub his nose, embarrassment flashing into his gaze.

[midnight]

Meagen knew taking a walk at this time was a bad idea. She had heard the cries, but she had to find Gojii. The little creature had taken off again, this time without taking her marking collar. Meagen had made it so that no one would hurt the creature, some people just didn't like cats... She had learned that the hard way in the first week of owning Gojii, more like being owned by Gojii.

She had to find the cat, and the cat liked males more then anything. Especially ones that would shower affection on her... Shards.. this was such a bad idea. She ended up in the hallways outside of some of the weyrs, trying to find the cat. What she found herself in was definitely a troubling situation. She came around a corner and was almost flattened by some riders making their way through, flight lust... had to love it.

Tendrils of the emotions filtered through her, and even more so when she saw Mik was in the crowd of males chasing the greenrider. Unfortunately as the girl pushed herself off of the wall so she could get out of the way, she ended up getting her legs tangled up, and nearly fell into the pathway of the males. Scratch that, did fall into the pathway of the males. Oh shards, this wasn't good! She was in the way, and she couldn't move quick enough to get out of it.

(( Yes I have permission for this. Have fun knocking into her... and yes I know what K'lir will do. I'm prepared. ))

[Ember]

The bow was enough of an invitation for the flightlust-lost brownrider and he didn't hesitate to go further into the room with a low, purr-like sound in the back of his throat. The smile threw him through a loop and he was strangely eager to see what the beauty had in store for him. It was so deliciously dangerous and with Dsoleth's influence he couldn't help but be drawn to it. Neither he nor his dragon were daredevils or completely crazy, but the brown did enjoy a dominant female. One that knew what it wanted and would do what it wanted to get it. He'd chase most any female until he found what he wanted.

T'san's eyes flickered with supressed amusement. Whoever this Ahth was, he was a bold one in his opinion. His competition wasn't so good as to just roll over for him. His absence had him at a disadvantage already and he was not going to be outdone by some male who refused to even come to his precious green. As K'lir dashed him and the other chases he growled low in his throat and gave chase. An unworthy female fell in front of their lovely green and he hissed as he stopped. As if they had time for her! Yet the human part of the man felt a flicker of sympathy at her predicament. A greenrider in the thralls of flightlust wasn't the best person to fall in front of. Heck, any person under flightlust ought to be avoided unless you were a flight moth. The part of him in the air didn't care to help her though. He didn't have time for brats who didn't know when to stay away.

Dsoleth was mildly surprised as the green rather suddenly dropepd from the clouds. The thought of 'like a stone' wasn't even considered. It would be infinitely rude to call such a graceful fall a plummet of an ugly stone, would it not? Such style too! He had not seen a green roll like that before and he rumbled appreciatively. He once again closed his wings and fell with an uncreative spin compared to the green. He was bringing up the tail end of the chasers with Kaaoloth btu he was bothered little by it. There were other ways for browns as large as himself to show their best.

As the sparkling water of the river came closer and closer the brown felt the need to pull out of his dive but he ignored it until the last moment he could. Breaking out of his spin as he flared his wide wings he felt the coolness of the river and he kicked at it almost playfully before pulling up from it. Baoth led them further and further from the weyr and he was interested to see what she would do with them next. He beat his wings strongly to gain a little ground before letting his pace slacken again. He'd only been making up what he'd lost really.

The striped brown slowly rose higher in the air as he went. He preferred a level of flight that gave him some time to react and a clear line of sight to his goal. The terrain became less recognizable but it didn't bother him. He was more troubled by the change, now that he wasn't just blindly going down after her. She'd been flying well before but not like she was now. Perhaps she'd been trying to catch her suitors off guard? If so it had definitely worked.

He passed through a thermal without using it. Dsoleth had gained a height he was comfortable with. Not too high of course. He still wanted to be seen easily enough should the green be watching. The air space it gave him could be put to good use too should he feel like showing off. He watched Baoth admiringly as she flew. Such a dark beauty. Well deserving of so many chasers. She deserved more but he was glad that others hadn't joined in.

[mierce]

Evrgarde favored K’lir with an appreciative smile as he bowed to her, one that looked outright foreign on her face. It may have felt foreign as well, as it must have been turns since she had smiled anything other than sarcasm. She made no move to verbally reply to K’lir’s little speech about Ahth though, seeing no reason to voice his opinion on the matter; the other chasers meant nothing to her. Instead, she found the Greenrider’s suggestion to play much more appealing than that a chaser was missing (even if it was because of said chaser that K’lir/Baoth wanted a little game).

She followed the young man’s movements with her eyes as he skipped out towards the doorway, the smile transforming into a low grumble of amusement. Evrgarde may not be the slightest bit aware of what was going on, but the innate part of her that found much pleasure in running through the jungles hunting down big game also found delight in the opportunity to personally chase the flirty little Greenrider. Iorath have all the fun of the hunt for himself? What nonsense. As soon as K’lir’s form disappeared around wall, she followed in a solid jog that gradually built up to a sprint.

As with her hunting trips through the jungle, the path between her and the quarry was never clear. This did not deter her though, as she simply dodged around or vaulted over obstructions like there were mere jungle trees, either standing or fallen. Her movements weren’t exactly graceful like a dancer’s, but they were clearly well practiced actions that spoke of a purpose. And that purpose was to catch her prey. That prone body laying sprawled on the ground in front of her? She landed on the toes of her left foot, letting her knees bend so that her body came low, then she sprung up and forward while extending her right leg out, over the girl’s head.

Iorath trumpeted at the dark green’s mesmerizing dive from the clouds. Ooh, he liked that! He dropped from the skies as well, spiraling down like a drill and unfurling his wings only before he struck the water. The pressure was enough to force the surface to explode in a wake behind him as he traced the bends and curves of the river right into the falling remains of a water wall that had risen up with Baoth’s passing.

His violet eyes swirled in glee as he found themselves flying further into less familiar territory. Not that he was completely unfamiliar with this area as he had come hunting this far south a few times, but he certainly did not have as intimate a knowledge of terrain as areas that were closer to home. This only made him more excited to find out what Baoth had in store for them. Whatever it was, he would be up for the challenge.

[Requiem]

A stirring in his stomach, he held still, knowing it was just a...gesture. Wanting more, but he stood, felt the pain of the distance of a single step like a slap, eyes half-lidding as they followed the graceful movements. The teasing expressions. Then the words, so soft and matter-of-fact, and he caught himself listening to the soft silkiness of them and not understanding their meaning. Go show him, what? He blinked. Show who? But Baoth wanted to play, and he was fine with that, even though he was a little slow to react when she suddenly shot through the door.

Behruth peeled around, circling through the diving chasers in an almost cool efficiency as they all plummeted past him, going the opposite direction. Dsoleth and Kaaoloth nearly knocked him off course in their wake, and he twined further upward. This was why he hadn't followed too closely to begin with; such a tight pack of dragons could be dangerous, and he didn't trust them to be aware of him as they were of Baoth. Who could keep their whits on the other dragons when she was there to consume every spare ounce of attention?

He skipped through the wide range of thermals higher, following her course that now followed the river in the wild head over tail spin that she somehow made look easy - graceful. No possible way he or any of the others could compare to that. But it was a dance, and as with any dance, the males were only there to show off the female's beauty. Lovely Baoth hardly needed help in that department, but he knew his role, diving in stairsteps and twisting in and out of the cloud cover, using each plunge for speed, not to lose her. Behruth cavorted in the winds, coming gradually closer, then spilled air from his wings in a hazardously steep dive, slashing through the air. He whirled into a tight turn above and ahead of her to fall back behind, in with the other males, his wings pumping hard and shooting him forward.

Side skipping into a slipstream, he rolled back out when it propelled him too swiftly, cutting back across her tail boldly...though still high enough so as not to accidentally brush or crowd her.

Human! Pulling up abruptly, he stared at her. What was a human doing in the open skies, without wings?! She was going to fall and go splat and then there would be no more human. Confusion reigned, though, even as Dsoleth ran into her and Iorath flew above her, leaving her to fall into a most not nice sort of death. No, she wasn't there. No human. Yes, yes, right in front. No. He moved close to Baoth...knowing she at least was real and not some phantom falling human that tripped up dragons but wasn't really there.

Behruth visibly faltered, sliding to one side where he wouldn't get in the way of the other dragons to make absolutely certain that none of the pink skins were tumbling through the air in freefall as part of him insisted they were. But no. With a hiss at the distance that simple movement had cost him, he sprung forward, wings pounding the air swiftly.

[glamourie]

Skip, prance, skip, prance. A very merry parade the group made as K’lir led his chasers through the hallway toward R’ahre’s weyr. He was so at ease in his own skin that it was hard to tell it was even K’lir; he was usually prone to grumbly stalking, not bouncing. Throughout his bouncing, he actually turned around on multiple occasions to flirtatiously smile at the males chasing – hers, hers. It was in one of those moments that a girl appeared and K’lir did not notice her at first, somehow instinctively avoiding stepping on her – thank Faranth for small favors. But as soon as he passed her by, putting the fallen form between himself (facing backwards) and his chasers, he froze. The look on K’lir’s face had questionable humanity to it, and the slight narrow of his golden eyes was enough indication that an intelligent individual would’ve chose that moment to run. True enough was it that a 5’4” scrawny boy like K’lir (built more like a woman than a man) was hardly an imposing sight, but there was a distinct predatory grace in the slight cock of his head to the side, the measuring in his gaze… and in all of his posture was hostility. Hostility and anger.

No words came. None were needed.

There was another green in her flight. Baoth, mid twirl over the water, jerked around to fly upside down – wings beating and spreading the water beneath her with ripples of splashes. Her gaze flicked over the males in confusion, scarlet tinting the purple of her eyes. Dsoleth. Iorath. Kaaoloth. Ahth. Futh. Behruth. It made no sense. Her lovely males were all still there, all doing tricks – but she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that there was another there. Another female, daring to try and steal her males. She could see her – or she thought she could. The confusion was enough that she actually slowed down, looking around anxiously. Her anger was slowly becoming near overwhelming. She was not a creature who was prone to hot emotions – and her anger was no different. It was pathological, point A to point B logic. There was another female in her flight. Her first flight. Her skies. Until she was caught or deigned to pick a male, the skies were Hers. And the wicked heathen could wait her turn.

She would rip her to pieces. Growling in her throat, Baoth actually hissed – it was a low enough sound that it resounded through the jungles lining the river, sending several terrified wherries into flight, but loud wasn’t the right word for it… no, it was an absolutely, staggeringly nasty sound, but it wasn’t loud. The horrible creature was nearby and she’d make her pay. Her chasers were close to forgotten as Baoth, lost in an icy rage, turned on her wingtip right toward the trees. She had sense enough to recognize that a green would not be able to hide in the numerous trees, but the tree tops – that’s where she must have been. She was certain. Beating her wings hard enough to propel herself forward at a speed respectable, even for a green, Baoth darted in and out of the tree tops. Leaves were ripped from the branches around her and fluttered through the air like a thousand tattered pieces of a cape. She’d find the jealous one. Of course it was jealousy – Baoth had beautiful chasers, wonderful magnificent males and a selection any green would be proud to have. That other one must have gotten jealous. That did not justify it. Her anger was tangible in the air.

She wants to steal you all from me. Don’t leave me for her, my beautiful males!

The upset in Baoth’s mindvoice was enough that it was clear that, if she were human, she would’ve been crying. Half of the emotions weren’t hers. She was just angry, as showed from the way she darted in and out of the tree branches and trunks as if they were made for her; sinuous and long, she was more than comfortable twisting through the air.

No, the one who was upset was K’lir. The tears that formed in his eyes were real, and they spilled silently down his cheeks as he looked at the fallen girl as if she were a blight upon Pern. In his mind, she was. Enough of him remained to recognize that this was the first flight since his green Calistoth died. The first. Baoth’s first. Their first together. And this selfish, ignorant witch had to come wandering toward his weyr. She was obviously no dragonrider – so she had no business in the rider weyrs. No place there. Logic and reason were abandoned. Only hurt remained. She was just trying to ruin the flight, and that wasn’t fair or right – he’d never done anything to her, and he wasn’t even ready without extra trouble. His upset was enough to turn Baoth’s anger into full-fledged rage, and any logical thinking was lost on the greenrider. Lost to his dragon completely, with no humanity of sympathies left.

Throwing himself forward, K’lir actually launched onto the fallen girl, the full weight of his body hitting her chest. His hands went for her cheeks, long nails latching onto the skin and raking downward from her eyes toward her jaw as he hissed, “I won’t share with you. Find your own males. Today, they’re all mine. Today is my day, not yours! When I’m done with you, no male will ever want you. I will tear your face off!”

[Rei]

Sel’n was completely in K’lir’s thrall as he bounced after the smaller man. The bouncy gait looked decidedly strange on the brownrider and he likely would have been horribly embarrassed could he have seen himself. But Sel’n was Kaaoloth and as such he saw Baoth and only Baoth. Until of course the small female fell into the way. The Weyrlingmaster barely missed stepping on her and back stepped suddenly with a violent hiss. What was this female doing here? This was Baoth’s flight. Was she a fool?

Unsure of what to do at the moment he took another step back, although he was loathe to increase the distance between him and his beloved. Raising his head from the girl he caught Lir’s gaze and a low unsure croon left the man. Why was his green upset? Surely she knew that he would never leave her for such a puny uninteresting thing as this female.

Kaaoloth twirled over the river in a blissfully lust filled happy state of mind. Eyes focused on Baoth and only Baoth the small barrel roll he had preformed was completely for her. Suddenly however it became apparent that something was wrong. The scarlet in her gaze and the sudden slow down was proof enough of that. Her body language screamed upset and anger and Kaaoloth flung himself higher in the sky and took a quick look around. His other half was angry about some invader, but Kaaoloth saw nothing but Baoth and his competition. With a hiss he allowed some scarlet to color his gaze as well. Who sought to usurp his beloved?

Pumping his wings faster he took to the sky after the green. The hiss she produced was surprisingly potent and he again swiveled his head around to check for invaders. There was one here there had to be. She wouldn’t react that way if there wasn’t. When Baoth found them he would watch with pleasure as the beauty rendered whoever it was to pieces. Large wings catching an updraft, Kaaoloth allowed himself to rise above the trees with it. He did his very best to keep up. She was fast but she would be tiring soon. He had to get closer.

As her mind voice came across to him he crooned in reassurance. No one could take me away from you Baoth. Never. I will follow you to the ends of Pern. He said softly. His voice was caressing and contained what reassurance he could give. Kaaoloth did not like to speak in flights but this time he would make an exception. Her upset was hurting him as well. Baoth did not need to be upset. Especially not in her first flight. Such wasn’t right. This should be a happy occasion.

Sel’n crooned reassurance to K’lir even as Kaaoloth did his best to reassure Baoth. She shouldn’t be sad. It wasn’t right. Irrational anger surfaced against the invader but it was not his place to punish her. It was Baoth’s and as K’lir set himself to doing just that Sel’n crooned in excitement. “Yes rend her. Make her pay.” The sight of blood irrationally excited him and he bounced in place, encouraging Lir with both body language and voice. Nasty invader how dare she. It was only right that Baoth punished her for her trespass.

[Ember]

T'san didn't skip. Macho brown meant no skipping. His step did have a slight bounce to it though which denoted his relative good mood. It wasn't often a green led him on such a good chase after all. At least, he had been in a good mood. Now the little female between him and the green was beginning to annoy him. Upsetting his lovely darkling green, she was. She needed to leave. Neither he nor Dsoleth really liked violence but if she didn't try and leave quickly then he could not fault K'lir hurting her. Given the expression on their beauty's face he doubted she had very long at all to try and scurry away.

Dsoleth watched Baoth flip over. A neat little maneouver he might have let a small croon out for were it not for the fact that something was wrong. He glanced about him as if searching for the cause but he couldn't find one. When she too began looking about he went lower, attempting to get closer. His first thought was that she was certifiably crazy but he dismissed that thought. If she was he wouldn't have kept chasing her. The reason suddenly clicked in his mind and he was equally confused. There was another female about but he couldn't see her. He did know that it was unworthy, unwanted.

It was disturbing Baoth, is what it was doing! He crooned comfortingly to the green. He wasn't going anywhere and she had to know that. Don't want her. Don't like her. he said in an attempt to pacify her. He didn't want fighting! Pretty, beautiful you is all I need. Let her watch, see what she can't have? It was the most mean spirited thing he'd ever suggested but if it meant Baoth wouldn't attack the green when she found her then it would be worth it. The large brown didn't approach the trees as closely as his pretty did but he made it obvious that she was his sole concern.

Tears! T'san growled in desperation. He wanted to help K'lir, to stop her hurting but he could do nothing at the moment. As the beauty launched into an attack on the other female he winced at the fighting. Bad! It was her day and the unwanted one had no right being around but fighting was bad. He crooned, stepping forward slightly and hissed out some very unlikely words, "Not rend. Make her watch you with us. We're yours today, not hers. Make her realize that!"

[Requiem]

Behruth suddenly lashed across the water, spraying it upwards in his wake, the anger upsetting him for one reason and really only one: he didn't want Baoth to hurt herself. He would have reassured her that there was no female here, but part of him was certain there was and he was confused. A human. A female? Not but...oh he didn't know. I don't see any other, beautiful one. None of us do. We see only you, he assured her, hovering over the trees a fair distance so as not to get in her way. He didn't want to give her any more obstacles she might run into.

Turning. Did dragons cry? This green was special, as he already knew...she leaked her sadness. The eyes said sad. He remembered sad, how sad could turn to angry, and angry to blood and death. Sad wasn't good. Because after anger finished there was only blood and guilt. All this he remembered...for some reason more directly than he should have. And yes, there it was, the anger that came after sadness, and the blood. No, no, no! They would fight and hurt because of the sadness, and someone would die, and then there would be guilt.

Springing forward (when had his wings become arms?) he wound his arms around her body from behind, burying his face in her neck and tugging her up. "Please. Please. She is nothing. Nothing at all." He didn't even tell her to go. Turning his back on the insignificant one with Baoth still cradled close, he stroked his hand through her hair. "I don't see her. None of us do. We see only you." What was this wet? He was leaking, too. For a moment startled by that realization, his arms loosened, still holding but inviting her to leave him, though it hurt to think that she would. She hadn't chosen yet. He just...didn't want to see the beautiful one cry. Or regret.

Behruth felt like he was...around her, close and touching, but he wasn't. The disorientation was odd. Leaking? Yes, her mindvoice sounded like it. Holding back, he twisted out his agitation, hoping she'd stop being so angry soon when she realized there was no female there and never had been.

[midnight]

Oh sweet Faranth! Gojii would pay for this! Sharding cat taking off at all times. Megs had just needed her for something small, but now this would be more of a problem. Some of the Riders moved over her, she rolled to avoid the others, but it was the angry greenrider that attacked her, her eyes widening as she put her hands up in defense. She wouldn't strike a blow to him, that would be a bad idea. "No no!" She exclaimed in a hopefully soothing tone. "I have no need for your males, they are all yours. It's another I look for, your males I seek not!" She said in a rather scared tone.

Nothing would snap the males out, some even called out to attack her more... but she wouldn't hold it against any of them. She didn't care to watch either. She twisted a little, doing her best to stay away from the attacks of the Rider. "Return your mind to your sharding flight! I DO NOT SEEK TO TAKE YOUR MALES!" The females said in as firm a tone as she possibly could. Emotions were at fault here, she wouldn't let it cause problems, she wouldn't.

But sharding shells, being this close made all the anger and lust roll over her. Not something the girl needed, not something she needed at all! She twisted again, seeking to break the hold the male had on her, she was being as gentle as she could, while keeping herself from his reach. She could not harm a rider, especially not one that was seeking to mate. She couldn't do it, it wasn't in her. She had to calm him somehow, how the shards would she do that?

Fear flashed in her eyes, true fear as she shook a little. She sought to regain her calm, and found it harder and harder by the moment. "Your males will get away, shouldn't you be more focused on them. I have no dragon! No dragon to challenge yours! I seek not to take what is yours." She stated again, hoping that somehow words would get through. Shards she'd be in trouble for this, was Gojii really worth it all? Yes, that cat was one of her few friends left.

She just had to get away, and out of the range of the males. The green in her anger would probably chose soon, or her Rider would draw blood... Which is what happened. This time air, rushed from her lungs as his weight hit her full on her chest. She hissed in pain though, not allowing any screams to leak from her. Tears mingled with the blood that streaked her face, good thing she was a hardy girly. She was tempted to knee him in the balls, but with him on her fully this was problematic.

She had tried so hard to get the shards up! She closed her eyes and hoped she'd be forgiven for her next actions, her body twisted as she fought to pull her feet to her chest. If she could do that, she could push the rider off without hurting him too much. She was more worried for the green, more worried about distracting her from her flight. Dragons could get lost, if their Rider was hurt while they were in Flight.

[mierce]

Evrgarde swiveled around as K'lir backtracked to the unwanted female, confusion in her eyes as what she saw and what Iorath did not clashed in their fused consciousness. There was another female, one that had made her dearest K'lir upset. In fact, K'lir was in the midst of ripping her face off. And yet, try as he may Iorath could not even catch a glimpse of the offending dragon as his lovely Boath tore through the jungle canopy.

Confusion and such blatant disorder did not sit well with Evrgarde; while Iorath was sincerely, deeply concerned but may not have reacted violently if an actual green dragon had shown up, His would barely be able to tolerate the interruption. Interruptions that disturbed something important must be taught a lesson. A lesson.

While M'ta offerd comforting croons to K'lir, Evrgarde brushed passed them and plunged a hand between K'lir's wrists to grab a hold of the foolish girl's collar. Hissing, she hauled the girl to her feet until they were face to face and roared in her face. The other hand reached behind her back for her metal baton with the intent on bashing the intruder's head in. Luck be with Megs though: the bluerider had forgotten that she had purposely left it in her weyr and her hand simply closed into an empty fist. This only added to the bluepair's collective confusion.

Growling and glaring, Evrgarde tightened her grip for a moment before bringing a foot back for leverage, then hurled her to the wall. Before the girl even made contact with the cliff face, Evrgarde had turned around to face K'lir again, standing firm and waiting for the greenrider to make his next move.

In the sky, Iorath continued to trail after the dark green, sending croons of reassurances towards her. He wanted no other. It was just her. Her. Baoth. Please, don't be angry. You're perfect; no other could dare hope to compare!

[Avu]

Having negated the tricky proposition that was the door, R’ahre, more or less completely Ahth by now, slipped down the hallway. He’d fallen into smooth, sliding steps, his head tilted slightly to one side and his eyes blank; it was a curious image, certainly. Just as he rounded the first corner, though, he felt it and heard it simultaneously – Baoth’s voice, through Ahth, and K’lir’s from somewhere ahead. To his mind, they weren’t two separate voices, just one, one voice and one cry that made cold fury sweep through him. R’ahre stopped dead in his track, and the look that passed his face was decidedly angry before it settled into neutrality again and he slid forward cautiously again.

Ahth’s eyes narrowed intently as he curled around a thermal, watching silently as he spun into a long, low glide after the green just in time to hear her hiss – and then dart off into the trees. Ahth’s entire body coiled like an accordion as he switched directions rapidly, angling himself upwards to avoid having to go directly into the trees. They would only slow him down and he was hardly going to get left behind, even if he didn’t know what had Baoth so upset. Her words emphasized that upset and made Ahth tilt his head to one side, curious; who was ‘she’…?

Only the mindless would ever leave you, Baoth, he said softly, excluding the other males in the comment. They didn’t need to know what he was saying, anyway; the statement made it clear that he’d dropped his animosity (if only temporarily) for Futh in the face of the green’s distress. Regardless – part of him didn’t feel it was really necessary for him to speak; surely she knew that he wouldn’t leave her? – but the words were meant to stop her upset as much as anything else. He glided after her, swiftly, silently, a fair distance away in case she made another whiplash turn (Catching Baoth and colliding with her were two very different things, after all), spinning on one wingtip to avoid a tree that stood above the rest.

What’s happening – what’s going /on/?
Baoth is upset. There is another…?
But…

Confusion, fury, upset, want; the four mixed together and R’ahre’s gaze blurred for a moment as he half-fought Ahth before giving in again. His feet carried him around another corner and then he actually stumbled at the sight that was presented him. Some random girl, with Baoth (and to him, K’lir was Baoth now, completely) on top of her, the other males ranged around in various states of mind. Excitement, one of them was crying and hugging Baoth from behind – why was he touching her – and the girl was screaming, too, while one of the blues seemed to be, uh, roaring at her. A flicker of irritation passed through R’ahre’s features as he moved quietly towards the group, drifted past Dsoleth, and stopped close to K’lir and M’ta, but not close enough to touch either of them.

His voice gave no sign of his disgust for the girl away, though his gaze as it raked across Meagan’s face before moving back to K’lir did – nor was it a hiss, a croon, or pleading, only soft, reassuring. “She’s not worth the effort. Nobody would ever want her over you. Not now – not ever.” His gaze narrowed on Meagan again briefly, R’ahre’s fingertips twitching slightly at his side; part of him wanted to touch Baoth to comfort her but – clearly the brown had gotten there first.

[Ruby]

Futh did not skip. Well, Futh might have if he could have- M'kai did not. He stalked, flowing with an awkward grace that more closely approximated Cry's normal gait than his own. Futh needed all the help he could get in the grace department, and M'kai was unconciously doing all he could to push his Blue to the forefront. His long legs were helping, and he was nearly at the front of the chasers (at the back, above them?) when he turned a corner and saw her.

His first reaction was startlement. Stopping dead, he watched vaguely as the other chasers flowed around him, time seeming to stretch out. He knew the little... green? She wasn't a green, but she must be, there were only greens and blues and browns here. She was certainly no gold. The shred that was M'kai recognized her, and Futh did too, in his doubled vision. But both of them knew that it did not matter. Not an ounce. Hissing, he swung around, taking up a position next to Baoth, slightly in front, subtly trying to protect her. As if she needed protecting.

Futh, still up with the browns rather than among the slimmer blues, shrieked his irritation. She was here and she was not- how was that possible? Even MORE irritating, trying to figure that out was distracting him from Baoth, from the Flight. He'd fallen behind when His stopped moving, but now Baoth was slowing too. Anxiousness and anger was writ large in every angle of her body, but Futh was astounded at how beautiful she continued to be. Normally a green that angry would send him running, but on her... it just made Futh want to kill the one that caused it.

Apparently Baoth did, too. As she darted in and out of the treetops, Futh swooped lower, trying to spot a green hide among the leaves. Although... that wasn't right. There was no green, Futh realized. Or if there was, it was a tiny baby green, accquired at some other Weyr in the past month or two. Realization dawned finally as Baoth called out, and Futh called back.

There is no green, beautiful Baoth. Only you! His mindvoice was triumphant, proud of the problem solved. Good thing he'd met the girl before, and knew she had no dragon!

M'kai echoed Futh's call, speaking as his dragon did. "... Only you." His voice, however, leaked pain. Pain for Baoth, human and dragon, at having her first flight so rudely interrupted, and pain for himself and the other chasers, that they would now have to work so much harder to prove themselves. She had been in such a good mood. And M'kai knew, too, that he knew this girl. If Baoth discovered that, it could be the end for him.

As the moment stretched, M'kai shifted onto the balls of his feet, ready to do... something. Then everything happened at once. Baoth leaped on the Green who was not a Green, Behruth leaped for Baoth, and Iorath took the other Green and slammed her into the wall. Iorath was done, it seemed, waiting for Baoth to continue, so Futh rounded on the girl, growling in a truly feral way. Putting his whole body into it, he shoved her back down the hall, biting off a furious "Go!" before spinning back to Baoth. It was her flight again, and none of them would leave her until she chose who got to stay.