Anyone Have a Death Wish? (Tanith's Flight)

[kysseh]

It was nearing the middle of the afternoon, and the sun was swelteringly bright, beating mercilessly on whatever unfortunate inhabitants of the weyr happened to be out and about. The warm stone of their weyrledges was probably a magnet for every dragon who could afford the leisure. Most people, however, were well-cautioned to avoid the heat, and the area was unusually quiet as a result.

Aliscia was actively avoiding it, in that she had finally dipped herself into a very cool bath. Her clothes were dumped in a pile near her desk, left there after she and Tanith took a brief flight that morning. She had just stripped to her skin and curled up in her bed for a nap and then finally dragged herself to the bathing pool to avoid the dry, overwhelming heat. The bathwater was so cold--sharding springs that fed it-- that her teeth were chattering within minutes, and she had to slide out before she turned blue. Her towel was missing, though, and she growled furiously at that realization. That was minorly inconvenient, to say the least.

Her feet slapped on the floor as she left her bathing room to enter the main room of her weyr, pausing in front of the floor-length reflective surface near the doorway. Perhaps it was Tanith's proddiness--shardit, but that stupid green was due to Rise soon--but Aliscia was experiencing a rare vain moment, and she took the time to spin around and look over herself. Barring the scars that broke the skin on her back, her belly, both legs, her face--shardit, where wasn't she scarred?!--her body wasn't all that unhandsome. Her petite form was fairly balanced, minus the wideness of her hips and the fact that her breasts were just a size too large for the rest of her little body. But she was fit and well-muscled all over, not a spare ounce of fat anywhere on her frame but on those two out-of-balance areas. She was strong... able.. and in her prime, really.

She frowned, suddenly stopping her hands where they had been sliding down her sides in appreciation of her taut and flat abdomen. What was getting into her?! Why did she want to look so desirable, so... well, attractive?! The scars on her body fairly negated any attractiveness that any decent male would have held, and the indecent ones couldn't stop looking at her figure long enough to notice her face, which irritated her. Idiot creatures. She hated them, but she wanted them and-

Oh, shards.

Aliscia froze, her face reflecting horror as she realized that it was not only her thoughts floating through her head. Tanith, who had been sprawled asleep in the sun on her ledge, was awake, and the green was performing her own perusal of herself and liking the hard-muscled and fit form that she saw and felt. The greenrider was suddenly terrified. She had thought she would had a few more days to prepare, to figure out a way to manage this without having to be pawed, groped, bruised, and abused again. She had had enough of it!

Tanith was in no frame of mind to listen to Aliscia's protests, though, and the green stalked to the very edge of her weyrledge. Her normally dull, mottled hide had taken on an odd glow, and she gave her jaws an aggressive snap before arching her neck to look over the weyr below and about her. It was hard to miss what was going on with her, and after a morning and half an afternoon of sleeping in the sun, the green was practically seething with unspent energy. She tossed her head back and forth and hissed loudly, suddenly flaring out her wings to catch the attention of any worthy male who should be unfortunate enough to be lusting and watching. Oh, she wanted them all... the agile blues, the sturdy browns, and those stupid sharding bronzes. They should all want her too. She was not graceful and delicate like those other greens. No, she was a fit and capable green in her prime, just like her rider, and she would not submit to them easily like those dainty creatures did. No, she was offering a tempting challenge to them.

Suddenly, the need to get airborne overrode her initial wish to attract attention, and the green opened wide her wings with a lusty shriek that was as much war cry as mating call. Let those puny little males come to her and try to prove their worth. She would be waiting, and today, she was queen of the skies! No one could outfly her, and she would prove it to them. She pitched forward off her ledge and let the warm air catch beneath her wings before soaring up and out of the canyon, shrieking again to make sure that any of those slower to react made sure to get their lazy tails in gear.

They took more than a half-second to respond, and that was suddenly too long, and she raged, flipping over twice in mid-air in a staggeringly fast barrel roll that would have left any watcher dizzy. Where were they?! She wanted to test them, try them, tempt them, and they were taking their time! Well, she would show them, and without giving them another instant to respond, she was pumping her wings and off, streaking over the jungle with a flight path that had her ascending toward the clouds. Oh, this diabolical, tiny little green was only just getting started...

Aliscia, meanwhile, was absolutely furious with Tanith for doing this to her, as well as contradictorily enraged at those stupid suitors who took too sharding long to get within her presence. Still nude, she padded into the main room of her weyr, a shiver running through her body as she felt Tanith's lust growing to overwhelm her. The human part of her brain screamed in protest and a bit of fear, and she instinctively snatched up one of the knives she had, sheathe and all, clutching it in her right hand as if its presence alone could keep them from walking in and just grabbing at her. No, no one would touch her until she consented, but since her consciousness was no longer with her body but largely airborne with Tanith, it was hard to distinguish which female the thought belonged to. No, in Aliscia's mind, she was far, far above the jungle and ascending fast, not standing dripping wet in the heat of her weyr, ready to stab the first errant suitor who rushed her.

Strange, how it was the kinder of the pair who was suddenly more inclined to violence.

[reqqy]

Sleepy. He was too nice when it came to Shei, and always took care of the babe unless his daughter needed to nurse. Unfortunately, that one was beyond his capacity. In essence, that had him up and down all night, and he was feeling it during the day. Very actively. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd just nodded off for a couple of seconds. Or a minute. Or an hour. Hard to tell right now. Rubbing blearily at his face, he tried to reawaken. Shardit. He'd only been out for a little bit, but apparently it was enough to cause him the usual problems. His brain absolutely would not work after just waking up. He wasn't quite sure where he even was, and certainly he couldn't remember what he'd been doing. Staring at his hands, at the chickenscratch on a parchment that wouldn't come into focus, he tried to force his eyes to work.

Salenth was asleep at the back of his mind, which certainly wasn't helping anything much. Leaving off trying to decipher what might as well have been heiroglyphics, he cast about the room and recognition slowly dawned. Right. Office, with a connecting door to P'nor's, had the Wingleader ever seemed to use it. If he did, he must be working at night, because S'rei never saw him. The wingsecond stretched and nearly toppled back when the chairlegs came off the floor. It slammed back down with a thud and he blinked owlisly. That probably would have hurt a bit. Okay, time to wake up. There was no cold water to splash around in, which usually did the trick, but he stood up anyway and stretched out the kinks in his back that came from falling asleep in a chair. Some of his muscles were getting tighter a lot quicker nowadays. Nowadays? That made it sound like he was getting old. Nope. Just...prematurely grey. Eh, lovely.

That was a little better. He stifled a yawn. It would really be nice just to go out on the weyrledge and curl up with Salenth. They hadn't done that in turns. But the warmth would be nice, he thought absently. At least better than the hard chair. He really was tired. Shei was in that stage where she woke up about every two hours. Almost like clockwork. Deciding that whatever was on his desk wasn't going to get completed anytime soon with him fading in and out, the bronzerider thought he'd make good on the errant thought. It would probably look strange to passersby, wouldn't it? A rather obviously grown man curled up inside the coils of a dragon's tail. Nevertheless, he did just that, taking comfort from the proximity of his bonded. Nice feeling. Adjusting so that he could pillow his head, the wingsecond drifted off again, into a pleasantly dreamless sleep.

Unfortunately, it was not to last very long. A strident scream broke his sleep, the man moaning and turning over, not wanting to awaken just yet. Salenth, however, had come instantly awake. Every muscle in his body tensed. A fleeting thought went through the dragon's mind, something about he really couldn't...but it was gone just as quickly. How could he think on anything but the glowing green above, doing somersaults in the air as if gesturing to them to come on in her impatience. He rumbled low in his throat and surged to his feet, not even noticing when he dislodged his bonded.

The great bronze wings flared out, though he hesitated another second. Something nagged at his mind. Growling, he banished it. What was wrong with him?! This wasn't the time to be worrying about needling little voices. He needed to get airborne, and quickly, before the beauty got too far away. And such a gorgeous creature, too, strong and lithe. A fighter. His type of dragon, that one, though he'd be hard-pressed to impress so sprightly a beast, particularly if any blues or smaller browns decided to press their suit as well. No matter. He'd chase her because he wanted to, and just the chase was an honor in itself. Not that he wouldn't be ecstatic if she should choose him.

Two full seconds had passed since her first scream when he roared out an answering cry, accepting her challenge. His muscles bunched, and he sprung from the weyrledge, the massive wings displacing the air and and bearing him upwards swiftly. Where were the others? Oh, he was sure they'd come. After all, he wasn't the only one who could appreciate such beauty. He spiraled up after her, dancing amongst the clouds.

Now, that nagging voice that Salenth thought was internalized? More a shout. S'rei cursed his dragon roundly. Already the sensations were slamming into him, his body responding, his mind beginning to cloud. It wasn't quite as bad as a goldflight, but then, both he and Salenth were somewhat out of practice, and that only increased the strength of the Flightlust to the point that, in a matter of moments, it was all the bronzerider could do to remember he wasn't a dragon. His fists clenched spasmodically, nostrils flaring. A thought of Shmee surfaced. He should head to their weyr before this became too strong. The girl was not the forgiving sort, and while he was fairly certain he could avoid the Flightmoth route, better to play it safe.

He stalked rather stiffly back to the inner corridors that tunnelled through the cliffs, blinking against the lust washing over him. Maybe, had he not been half-awake, his conscious mind might have held on a bit longer. Perhaps. But then he was going past the doors leading into various weyrs, and his aim was no longer his own. Shoulders hunched slightly as he cracked the door open and pushed it aside with a shoulder.

Pausing, he stared at the green, the perfect green standing in the center of Pern, all else gravitating toward her. Some instinct told him to resist that gravity. A less universal instinct caused him to kneel on one knee, his eyes never leaving her, soft rumble of appreciation in his throat. It was echoed from the bronze above, who continued to tail the green upward, higher, higher into the depths of the sky.

[Administrator]

Shmee had finally began plunging back into the records, trying to rewrite the old ones. However, it was hard for Shmee to decipher some of then. Looking over at Shei, she chuckled sleepily. The babe was sleeping in a little chair that was made just for babes. "I think some of this is so boring," she sighed. "Who cares how many bushels of grain we got a hundred turns ago from Selenitas Hold? Someone clearly had nothing to do but write tithing records over and over," she commented to the sleeping thing. But she didn't expect a reply. She instead pushed those particular records away, searching for something more exciting to copy. This was such tedious work, she thought grumpily. She truly had to convince Kaegan to help her with this. And why was it a queenrider's job, anyway? She huffed. Well, weyrlings too, but half of them didn't know what they were doing. Dipping her quill into the inkwell again, she began to doodle mindlessly...

Until she heard a roar. This caused her to jump, and she groaned irritably. A giant splotch of ink had stained some of the tithing records. "Maybe it's a sign," she complained, throwing that hide at the wall. "Maybe it's a sign that nobody gives a shard about old tithes..." Then, she was overcome by a feeling of dread. What...? Aslath screeched, louder than she had heard in a long time.

THAT IS MY BRONZE![/color] she screamed. Shmee's blood ran cold. S'rei...

She wasted no time in picking up Shei. The movement stirred the babe, and Shei began to cry, but Shmee needed to find S'rei. She was panicked. She knew that even though S'rei wouldn't be able to control himself, she couldn't bear to share him with someone. Looking out the window frantically, she tried seeing if they were headed to the Flight weyrs. But after a tense moment, seeing that nobody was rushing in that direction, she bolted out the door, running as quickly as she could to the stairs. Aslath, poised perfectly on the shore of the river, was snarling up into the air at Tanith and Salenth threateningly.

I WILL FIGHT HER FOR HIM![/color] she snarled. Shmee nearly tripped in an effort to stop her dragon. Mentally pulling on the reins as hard as she could, Aslath screeched in frustration at her rider's command. She wasn't allowed to fight?! She hated this bronze suddenly. He had lied to her about not Flying greens. She was hurt that he could dare say such a thing to her, and cast her off so quickly. Was a mere green better than she? All she wanted to do was rip him to pieces, but her rider wouldn't even allow that... With Aslath writhing where she lay on the shore, Shmee fought a hard headache as she bolted down the stairs to Aliscia's weyr. Second floor, second floor...

But wait. She needed to foist Shei off to someone first. She didn't have long to ponder as she ran down the stairs though. Someone else lived quite close to Aliscia that could help with this. Without even knocking, she bolted into the small cavern that led to Laurie's weyr. "Laurie, Laurie, she begged breathlessly, holding Shei out for her. "Just... a little while..." she panted, feeling tears already begin to drop down her face. S'rei... Their happy time together hadn't lasted long, had it? She couldn't stomach the thought of him sleeping with Aliscia even in Flightlust. She felt sick to her stomach as she then turned, running as quickly as she could to the weyr next door.

She had lost S'rei once, and she couldn't bear to lose him again in Flightlust.

She charged in, pulling off her shirt as she did so. She needed to try and prove herself more desirable than Aliscia... or Tanith. "Salenth," she murmured softly, bringing herself in front of him. Her chest rose up and down quickly in her panic, and the headache of restraining Aslath was making her desire fellis. But still... "I'm prettier than that green," she purred, bringing one of his hands to her chest. She would jump him if she needed to in order to keep him with her. Loosening his pants, she tried not to feel hurt as she watched him desire another woman. For Shmee, she had been holdbred, and couldn't stand the thought of seeing someone she loved look at another woman with this much lust. She was a flea in comparison right now. But she needed to try.

Insistently trying to make him desire her with one of her hands, she wrestled her own pants off with the other, trying to press close to him. Tears continued to fall. "Who needs that green when you have a gold?" she asked hoarsely.

[marissa]

There was a rare smile on A’noan’s face today, due to the tanned boots that he had purchased at the Gather. Of course that strange smile had disappeared whenever he left his weyr, for his own good. He didn’t want the weyrfolk to think him insane and carting him off to the healers. No, no, that wouldn’t do. But, now, the reason for the smile was simply dashing. They sat proudly under his desk throughout the day, and whenever A’noan would smile at them, he could hear a very loud, pronounced snort from the weyrledge.

The bronzerider sat at his desk, oiling his harness so that the crack, caused from the endlessly frigid between, would vanish. The corners of his lips were turned in the remnants of a smile as he massaged the oil into the leather, his expression gradually morphing into one of boredom. People worked up the position of being a dragonrider, A’noan decided. It really had few droll moments: when you were in the air, and when you were talking to your dragon. Although maybe both were different considering what kind of dragon you had. Of course, with him, he had the best dragon, and he had trained himself to be the best rider. And with the title came the responsibility. A’noan sighed dramatically.

Mine, stop that nonsense. Every is aware that we are the best, so you have no reason to brood over the topic when you are alone.[/i] The bronze huffed. Also, there is a very pretty green on a weyrledge out here, and she is noticeably proddy. She will Fly as soon as she wakes, and I will Chase. She is Tanith[/i] And that was that, as far as Ermieth was concerned. He was considerate to allow His time to get ready for the Flight, you see.

Now, all A’noan had to do was figure out who Tanith’s was. It sounded vaguely familiar…Aliscia, I do believe. Alright, now he was really done. Ermieth just had to aid his, and he happened to be better at names than most. And, well, he also had watched the Queen’s Wing fly earlier, and he knew most of the dragonpair’s names at this point. With another huff, one that suggested superiority, the bronze turned his wedge-shaped head to focus on the glowing green, who was just waking up at the moment. She was a decent green…a pretty green…a lovely green…alright, that green was sharding exquisite! The bronze’s tail flicked side to side for a moment in earnest, as he waited for her to launch into the air. He wanted to greet her, show her what should be common knowledge: that he was the best male dragon in the weyr.

When she launched in the air, Ermieth’s eyes could only bask in her glowing green form for a moment, until she preformed such a barrelroll that he was off his ledge in less than a second, bugling as he gained altitude again before gaining on the green. The green, the exquisite green, that decided not to wait any longer, and took off into the sky, a few dragonlengths away from Ermieth. He didn’t like that distance at all: not if he could catch up to her, and prove to her that he was the best. She was angled towards the clouds, and she was gaining on them quickly, but he was a bronze. He rapidly beat at the air with his wings, gaining on her as she gained on the clouds.

A’noan’s smile was fully wiped off of his face by now, replaced by the semi-permanent scowl that normally fitted his features. He knew the moment that Tanith took off, knew the moment that Ermieth prepped to follow her, and he was out of his weyr the moment that his bronze left the ledge. They gained on their prizes simultaneously; it was admitted that A’noan got to his own faster. In truth, though, Aliscia wasn’t flying away from her suitors, whereas Tanith most certainly was.

He reached the weyr, not knowing how he got there, his mind already almost-one with Ermieth’s. Already there was another bronze: Salenth. Wasn’t that strange? Didn’t he…Sh…Gold…Ah, well, he didn’t really care. A’noan focused his eyes on his green, approaching her slowly, before pulling back. No, he would let her see that he was the best. She would see, and she would choose him, and that would be that. (And, well, she had a knife. That was a good reason to stay away.) His gaze never drifted from Tanith/Aliscia, but out of the corner of his mind, he saw a woman (vaguely familiar) with tears on her face, working on that other man’s belt. He had eyes only for Tanith (at the moment), and she could easily see that he would be the better one. He didn’t have other ties. His focus was on her, and only her, and he would not be distracted. No. Even if that was the Weyrwoman there, crying and asking his competitor bronze to leave, because he had her. But did a queen’s beauty even compare to Tanith’s?

Ermieth bugled yet again as he gained on his lovely green. There was another bronze, one that was not worthy: Salenth. But he did not even deserve second thought, next to the lovely Tanith. As soon as he was close enough, he crooned to the green, a croon that was interrupted by a screech. Still, nothing would distract him: nothing at all. Even if that was a golden queen, golden queen Aslath out there. She couldn’t compare to the beauty of Tanith. It wasn’t possible. There were no words to describe the beauty that Tanith held, and Ermieth would fight for it.

He snarled at Salenth, his eyes still focused on Tanith even as he angled his head towards his competition. He could go back to his gold, while Ermieth proved himself to this green. Nobody was good enough for the lovely creature except for himself. Crooning again, the bronze drew his bronze body closer to the green, just a scant wing behind her. He would be able to match this green, this wonderful Tanith, and no other could. It could only be him, Ermieth, who would show her that he was the best for her. Especially better than this Salenth, this two-timing Salenth who had a gold on the side!

The bronze crooned again. He would follow her anywhere, anywhere, anywhere. He could match anything she did, even if it wasn’t done as gracefully as she could do. For who could match this exquisite being, Tanith? Only he was worthy of such perfection, only he was worthy of such dazzling flawlessness. Ermieth crooned again, his tail flicking to dismiss Salenth, and any other competitors that might arrive. He was the only one for Tanith, and that was that![/size]

[ryanne]

((Sorry it took me so long! I'm here now. And I think I'm pretty sure that I'm over and above the "flight quota" *can't help posting in Flights...they're so much fun* ))

Tekisith never forgot when he was challenged. As bad as dragon memory was, he knew when he had to prove himself and he planned on doing just that. Ever since that morning, he’d kept an eye on the proddy dragon, ready to fly after her. She was a rather pretty green after all and he would show her his tricks in the skies. Even if he didn’t catch her, he would show her that he could indeed keep up. It was easy to keep an eye on her since their weyrs were side by side. He spent an unusual amount of time on his ledge, surveying the ground and watching out for Tanith. There was no way that he was going to let her Fly while he wasn’t paying attention. No, he’d be one of the first in the air after her and she would never forget that. She wouldn’t forget his tricks, his turns, his flight. It may be her turn to lead, but he would follow better than she could even imagine.

At first, His didn’t notice that anything was wrong. I’mny was too busy being pissed at the little leeches to notice that his dragon was coiled up and ready to leap from the weyrledge at the first sign of their neighbor’s Flight. If so, he might have at least tried to get a chance to talk to Aliscia first, warn her that his dragon was going to be in the air behind Tanith and of the little grudge and animosity they seemed to have brewed. But by the time he noticed, it was early morning and he wasn’t going to be able to get the free time to visit her until later in the evening. He mentally promised to do so, but Tekisith nixed that idea.

She’ll Fly today, he informed his rider with an air of certainty. His eyes were already whirling a purple-orange that was slightly foreboding. It wasn’t everyday that his blue was this certain about Chasing a green, though he did Fly a lot, so I’mny made no efforts to discourage him. He just wished he would have gotten a chance to talk to Aliscia first. Flights were always the worst for him. He disliked the thought of waking up next to someone that wasn’t his choosing. If he found a willing female that wasn’t a dimglow, he had no issues with a roll in the furs. But having his partner decided for him, it created a sense of coercion in the act that he didn’t necessarily like to deal with the next morning. Tekisith always told him he was too uptight about it all, but he shrugged it off. He hadn’t really gotten used to it in the many many turns he’d been a dragonrider, what was the point in adjusting now?

So instead of changing his entire schedule for the impending Flight, I’mny went about his day normally, keeping tabs on his dragon so that he could make it back to the Flightrooms before he was overcome with the Flightlust. Just as he was taking his first bite of his lunch, he felt the call, the urge to Fly. Hurriedly, he ran back up to his weyr, looking around for Aliscia. He was sure that there was no way that she was in the Flightrooms yet and he figured he’d just find her and follow her there.

Tekisith, on the other hand, wasn’t worrying about planning. The moment his green took off, he was right behind her, twisting up and higher less than a dragonlength behind her tail. A little closer than he’d usually fly, but he had a point to prove. When she flipped into her barrel-roll, suddenly the thoughts of proving her wrong morphed into thoughts of proving himself. Lust completely turned his eyes a whirling orange and red as he hovered below her, twisting and moving so that he was always as close to her as he could get without being in range of her snapping maw. Even as his lust made him a competitor rather than a show-off, his desire to leave the Flight uninjured made him keep his distance.

Thankfully, his close proximity gave him the upperhand as the bronzes joined him in the sky. Letting out a snapping shriek at both of them (how dare they fly after his green), he twirled up after her, mimicking her flight pattern, but twisting through the skies as he did so. They were bronzes, able to endure through it all, but he would show her what he had; agility. He was quicker than they could dream of being and he could turn like only she could. Growling momentarily at anyone who dared to get close enough to him, he continued to twist after her, his wings only leveling out as the need for speed overtook him. He was three dragonlengths behind her and that was too far.

With the continued ascension, he stopped his turning and opened his wings further, beating them steadily and quickly to pull him higher, gaining on her and pushing himself to regain his position. He was built for speed and agility whereas these dimglows of bronzes were only good for endurance. Didn’t they know that this was a green Flight? They had no need for the ability to fly forever. It was speed and twisting and turning and flipping and agility that was what was going to win this race. Tekisith crooned to his green, letting her know that he was the worthy competitor and he was the one who would follow her the best. Not the bronzes. Never the bronzes.

I’mny rolled his eyes as his dragon’s feelings began to filter through his mind. He could feel the affects of the lust, but his dragon’s thoughts were entertaining him more. It wasn’t until the shift to the lust from the revenge took place that he really began to lose control. Thankfully, that was when he reached the weyr. Apparently there was no need for a Flightroom today. He entered the weyr, taking in the sight before him. There stood Aliscia, dripping wet and completely nude. If he had been in his right mind, he would have appreciated the sight even without the lust pressing against him. With the lust, she became the most beautiful thing that I’mny had ever laid eyes on.

It was frustrating, though, not being able to touch her, claim her for his own already. When the other competitors entered the room, he growled at them, conveying his dragon’s emotions. They were unworthy of her. Of course, at this point in time, I’mny was smart enough to know that they were all unworthy of her. The knife clutched in her hand clearly relayed that message. Still, he refused to be discouraged. He kept his distance, yes, but he crooned to her as Tekisith crooned to Tanith. He would win his green. There was no way that he’d be left in the skies.

[missa]

{Warning, crappy post compared to everyone elses.}

It was too sharding hot. Or so W'liam thought any way, far, far too hot for him to want ot do anything remotely physical and even anything not physical. Even curling up against Rinth was uncomfortable, for the bronze had his own body heat, and that only caused W'liam to feel even hotter and sweatier. Not fun. Willow was no where about, not that her disapearing was unusual, she always came back after a few days. This time though, W'liam suspected that she'd flown off for soemwhere cool. Smart girl.

Glancing up from where he'd been half dozing on top of the furs, W'liam smirked as he watched Rinth. The bronze was dozing, not really paying attention, but he was also snoring. Or making soft whuffling sounds everytime he inhaled. A fact that W'liam found endlessly amusing. Well, it was something to do that wasn't moving.

The silence lasted for a few more moments, Rinth's soft snoring the only sound in the weyr. That was when the shriek echoed. Rinth, being the graceful, majestic bronze he was, jerked awake, only to nearly fall off his own weyrledge with a startled squawk. Flaring his wings unhappily and attempting to settle himself back on the stone while W'liam laughed hysterically at the bronze's expression. Did Tanith have to bellow like that? It was awfully annoying-- Oooh pretty sparkly glowy green.

Annoyance at her waking him forgotten, Rinth bounced to his feet - nearly falling off the edge again - as he answered her challenge with his acceptance, pausing a moment as he stared at the edge of his ledge - contemplating whether it was going to move again and push him off - before leaping off.
Rinth?
Pretty Tanith flies. Her hide sparkles so prettily, and she did get my attention so well... I want to Chase her, and I'm going to win her.
That's what you say every other time. Rinth didn't bother answering His the second time, he obviously didn't realise how difficult it was to win greens that had their eyes somewhere else. Like on the other two bronzes for instance, not that it would matter, Rinth was younger, he could out last them any day! Couldn't he?

Grumbling under his breath as he did so, W'liam got to his feet to find the green rider. She would probably be in the flight rooms--
Her weyr. Or her weyr as Rinth had so calmly offered. How the shards did the bronze know where she was? Either way, W'liam was going to trust him. Reasonable though, some riders might prefer their own weyr, or maybe Tanith had risen without ... Her rider knowing. Who was her rider anyway?
Aliscia... I think. Aliscia? It wasn't a familliar name, maybe he hadn't met her yet... That was just wonderful, Rinth was chasing a dragon who's rider W'liam couldn't even place. What a lovely, caring bronze he'd bonded to. Lovely.

None of the others were given more of a glance, even that was merely him identifying who they were. Or trying to. Why was the weyrwoman in here? She rode a gold - duh - not any male colour.. Maybe she was trying to distract Salenth, or S'rei as it was. Either way, it was one less he had to worry about. And since Aliscia was the one holding the knife, one less to worry about was probably a good thing.

[kysseh]

((Pssht, you're fine, Missa. <333 By the way, anyone else who wants to is welcome to join late, though they risk Tanith's wrath to do so. And don't feel obligated to stick to the previous posting order between my posts, or we'll be waiting forever on each other. <3))

Tanith arched her neck and gave a lusty warble, eyes whirling delightedly in her scarred head as she looked over her pursuers. They had certainly taken long enough, but none of the four--oh, yes, she had four!--suitors seemed to hesitate in trying to close that gap. Of course, the fact that all four of them had such a size advantage made it easier, despite her energetic ascent, and she hissed when two of her pursuers just got too close for comfort. She arched her neck and snarled angrily and immediately folded her wings and dropped like a stone between her pursuers, narrowly missing clipping Ermieth on the nose with the end of her tail. Yes, that would teach that arrogant-

Ohh.... who were her pursuers?

She re-opened her wings and levelled out her flight, glancing behind her to see which males had been intelligent enough to follow. The bronze that had roared... the enthusiastic one.... that was the senior queen's former mate, wasn't he? Well, he seemed to be very interested in her now, which suited her just fine. Let him try to prove himself! That arrogant bronze that had just escaped a snout-whacking was going to be put through his paces, for sure, and Tanith offered him another warning flick of her tail should he decide to get in close again. For all that it lacked in range, that appendage was still thick enough to be a formidable weapon, and she would use it as such. They needed to stop crowding her so, and she snarled in irritation at the very thought of it, feinting a strike at the air with one hind foot.

She worked towards ascending again, putting as much force into her wingbeats as she could muster to get some space between her and the rutting males. She peeked back again and then wheeled sharply to the right, crowing in satisfaction at the tightness of her turns. Oh, that clumsy little bronze would not be able to keep up, she didn't think. Not if he was still learning how to work his wings right! That blue, though... she tilted her scarred head to consider, watching him with curious consideration. Well, now, he could fly, and she gave him credit for being able to keep up with her and the sharding bronzes. Fine... well, she would allow him to Chase, but he was going to have to work harder than that to Impress her.

She was about to offer up another screech of challenge when Aslath's protest registered. The green snarled angrily and straightened out her flight, winging over the jungle and upwards to get as far from the weyr as she could manage. How dare that stupid creature try to intrude upon her Flight, and Tanith screamed in absolute fury as she picked up Aliscia's anger at the gold/rider's intrusion. This would not do, and she rolled her glowing green body over several times in the air to remind the males that she should be the focus of all of their attention! That stupid gold was not queen of the skies today, and any male who so much as hesitated was going to get left behind. The former Benden green was in no mood to tolerate slackers, and she shot up into the low clouds, trumpeting to re-focus their attention. Yes, she was up here... if they had the nerve to come and get her!

Aliscia hissed furiously as the males began to arrive, and she retained enough consciousness to know that there were four males and one unwelcome interloper suddenly in her presence. The weyrwoman's efforts to sway her weyrmate were met with a growl on the greenrider's part, the rider's eyes narrowing angrily in her pale and scarred face. How dare that gold! This was her Flight, her time, and these were her suitors! This insult, Aliscia/Tanith vowed, would be answered for later.

On the other hand, the greenrider did have some suitors to tempt, and she tilted her head to give them a coquettish look, padding a step or two closer with predatory grace. Her right hand still clutched tightly at the knife, and it did not seem to be letting go any time soon, despite the fact that Aliscia was now looking over her options with Tanith's lusty tendencies clouding her normal judgment. The bluerider... growling at the others but crooning to her. Possessive. The youngest bronze was just that... young and quite possibly very rowdy. Was that what she wanted? She did not think so, but she was curious to see if the young creature could Impress her.

Oh, that arrogant bronzerider had gotten too close, and while Tanith was hissing at Ermieth, Aliscia echoed that with A'noan, rolling her shoulders threateningly to make sure he knew that he was not welcome until she invited him in close. But... he could certainly try, and she offered him a flick of her head that had her wet hair brushing along her chin, just to make sure he did not lose interest. But... that other bronze with his leech was making her angry, and she glared haughtily at both him and his clingy gold. She did not want her here. There was no room in this weyr for three, and Aliscia was not one to share. He was going to have to choose, or Aliscia would choose for him by booting both he and his leech out. He received only a dismissive sniff, and she moved her gaze on to the blue for a more serious look, head tilted coyly to one side.

[reqqy]

Salenth didn't condescend to respond to the growling of the other veteran bronze or that silly little blue. They were both beneath his notice. This wasn't a race to capture, though he had no intention of being left behind. This was a matter of winning Tanith's approval. And why would she be happy about him paying attention to anyone but her? How could he, when her hide radiated such brilliance, when her perfect frame swirled enticingly across the sky before him? The male let a soft croon issue forth...probably too soft for her to hear. It didn't matter. Following her devotedly, he didn't try to imitate her movements; that would only accent his own clumsiness compared to her. No, he twined through the air, braking and turning tightly, exploding suddenly with a burst of speed before leveling out, always in a position where she might see him through her peripherals. Salenth displayed his strength through the moves and his respect by keeping his distance. He could only be grateful that his wings were so strong, though. Tanith, his goddess, was fast.

He streaked upward, only barely noticing that there was now yet another bronze on Tanith's tail. It only proved that she truly was the queen of the skies, to have so many follow her, and most of them bronzes. The male hissed angrily, however, whipping his body in a distinctly annoyed movement when a voice crashed through his skull. He didn't care to decipher the words. No one but Tanith mattered, and the intrusion was not appreciated.

And oh, but his glorious green was distressed, too! He bugled to her in reassurance. One at least wasn't distracted by whoever that was! His long frame snaked up through the clouds, the male playing through the wisps as he kept his beauty in sight. Though he knew it to be unlikely, he hoped that using the clouds to have him both removed and returned to her sight might somehow entice her. He was not nearly so shiny and glorious as Tanith, but the sun on his hide could gleam nicely, right? It was worth a try. Right now, he'd try anything for the green that led him ever upward, as if aiming to burst from the very atmosphere and fly into Rukbat.

***

Lauranna was out on her weyrledge with Miguel when Tanith rose, and she pointed out the gleaming green to her son. The boy bounced happily on his toes. " 'ragon!" Laughing, the greenrider nodded. "Yes, dragon." Then, when she saw the four that pursued, her laughter built up. Salenth? That was - just plain hilarious. Of course, her mirth soon subsided when Aslath's mindvoice speared through the Weyr. What the - ?! Since when did golds act like that over a green flight? Laurie grew suddenly anxious, worried that the queen might attack either her brother's dragon or Tanith, either of which was purely mortifying, though she must admit she'd be more upset if it was Salenth. Luckily, though, it seemed that Shmee had managed to get her dragon under control. At least one half of the goldpair had an ounce of sense.

Or perhaps not.

Turning, she came to meet Shmee, and found herself thoroughly taken aback by the woman's desperate cries and the tears on her face. What? Lauranna opened her mouth in protest, but Shei was already in her arms, and before she could stop Shmee, the Weyrwoman had disappeared back into the corridor. Lauranna hurried out into the hall and called after her, "Shmee! Wait! What the shells are you doing? Shmee!" But either the girl was too upset to hear, or she chose not to. Lauranna felt Miguel tugging at her trousers, the lad watching his former fostermother with wide, tearful eyes.

"Don't worry, love. She'll say hi next time," Lauranna murmured, hunkering down to slip an arm around her son's shoulders. He still looked about ready to cry. No, he was crying. Didn't Shmee ever think? The greenrider resolved to slap some sense into the girl the moment she got the chance. Poor Miguel didn't understand anything but the fact that his former fostermother seemed to have just rejected him, and he was nearly inconsolable.

***

Hissing, annoyed at his view being obstructed, S'rei half-rose before the insignificant aggravation latched hold of his wrist. He blinked for a moment, confused. Why was this filth touching him? He didn't want this. Didn't want her. By this time, the man had straightened to his full height and was beginning to move to one side, not even truly noticing the warmth beneath his hand. But then she was pawing at him, and he did notice that. Grey eyes settled on his weyrmate with absolutely no hint of recognition, a snarl curling his lip up into something distinctly unpleasant.

By this time she'd released his hand and it no longer touched her. S'rei was beyond the point of coherent words. He shook his head, eyes narrowing into slits and not at all comfortable with her bothersome attentions. He only wanted one woman touching him, and that was the beauteous green of his devotions, not this skank. After another second or two of perplexed indecision, he caught her by the wrist, his thumb pressing into the space between the base of her thumb and forefinger to catch the pressure point so he could remove her from him, which he promptly did.

Immediately taking a step back - just smelling her rancid breath was making him vaguely nauseous - S'rei forcefully thrust her to one side, a soft whine in his throat as he again saw his green clearly. If the harpy made Aliscia think he wanted such a decrepit little insect, he'd be most upset. Though he'd used enough force to put distance between them, S'rei didn't push her hard enough to make her fall or run into anything. She should be able to get the hint, and he wasn't a violent creature. He just wanted her out of his way.

The man reached out a hand to Tanith, crooning appreciatively before he let his hand fall. He didn't risk her wrath - or the knife - by moving any closer.

[ryanne]

At her hiss, Tekisith maintained his position, not dropping back much. He gave her adequate distance and he didn't draw any closer. In an answer to her hiss, he crooned again, trying to balance out her distaste. He was flying after her, she was beautiful, and he didn't want to fall behind. He couldn't lose her in the clouds or to the bronzes that Chased her as well. He tried to ignore the others that surrounded him, the bronze that was infringing on his space behind her, but quickly the bronze was beginning to irritate him.

When Tanith dropped, he tucked his wings and followed. He could plummet through the air almost as quickly as her even though the bronzes were clearly going to have a harder time with a drop due to their size. He preened in the fact that he could follow her better. He was a lithe blue and she was an agile, wonderful green. They were the mating pair, they were right for one another. Not the bulky bronzes who couldn't keep up. When she almost hit Emerith on the nose, he crooned again, appreciating the gesture. If the bronze had gotten any closer to him, there would have been a fight in the skies.

As she levelled off her flight, he stalled himself in the air, making an almost 90 degree change in direction before swerving after her in the air. At her snarl, he flipped in the air, accepting the small loss of the lead. He didn't need to keep on her tail, the bronzes wouldn't gain that much of a lead on him. He was a speedy blue and could keep with her faster than any of them. He would give her more space as she wished, but he would still maintain his spot in front. The bronzes would have to stay even with him or keep further back. Tanith would be his and none others. The bronzes weren't worthy.

Another ascension pulled on his wings as he tried to keep up with her furious wings, pushing them higher and higher in the air. He kept up though his wings were beginning to hurt a little bit afterwards. He pushed the strain to the back of his mind. Tanith was worth it. He was far from his breaking point and he would go to his breaking point and further to catch this beauty in the skies. The hot sun beating on him, he continued to climb, swerving to the right when his green did before hearing the gold's bugle. The blue was in the right mind enough to be shocked at the clear challenge. He worried for a moment whether there was going to be a fight in the skies, but the lust thrust it aside when his eyes registered Tanith moving in front of him.

He crooned to Tanith, The queen is angered because you command the skies and her bronzes. It is jealousy.[/i] That was an oddly eloquent comment from the blue who was usually silent when he Chased except for small croons. It was true, though. Tanith had three bronzes behind her, a feat that any queen should be jealous of. He changed his flight to match hers, not even realizing the reason for the change in direction. His thoughts were only for following her lead, not for understanding why she was choosing a new direction. It was not his place to question.

At her rolls, he micked them, rolling completely over before pushing himself forward with his wings and rolling again. Keeping a rhythm, he kept behind her, almost edging closer before flicking his tail so that he shot up and over the other competitors before circling Emerith and putting on a burst of speed that brought him back to his original spot behind Tanith. If he was going to prove himself over the bulky monsters around him, he was going to have to show off his agility and speed in the skies; just the things that the other competitors were lacking. Usually he wasn't so demonstrative in the skies, but usually he had other blues who could perform the same tricks that he could. He'd like to see a bronze try that.

I'mny hissed at A'noan as Tekisith's frustration with Emerith began to mount before the look on Aliscia's face drew him back. His beautiful green was approaching them, looking them over. He crooned to her again, keeping his distance, but the possessiveness still very obvious in his eyes. This was his green and the others needed to leave. He ignored the other female in the room. She was an unnecessary distraction and she was drawing away one of his competitors. That was fine with him, but he wasn't going to pay it any mind.

His focus was only on his Tanith, his Aliscia, his green. When she hissed at A'noan/Emerith, he grinned a little, glad that the frustrating male was getting reprimanded. He didn't like the pair and they were crowding him in the skies. Her near dismissal of the occupied pair was encouraging and then she turned to him. And he waited, hoping for her approval as Tekisith performed his small tricks in the sky. It was all for her.[/size]

[Administrator]

Shmee cowered, but she couldn't give up. The hate in his eyes, the rage, the disgust of how he looked at her... She suppressed sobs, which now sounded like she was choking. It scared her. For a moment, her fright was so much that she truly believed he hated her. She trembled as S'rei began to move away from her to the side. The desire and loyalty in his eyes for Aliscia, a look normally reserved for her, terrified her. It hurt her to see him look at her in that way. She tried to tell herself it was only because of the Flight. But it didn't stop the hurt feeling from growing in her chest like a large ache. That feeling was felt, too, by Aslath. In the gold's eyes, Salenth had done nothing but lie to her. He hadn't Chased a green those four turns only to come back and so easily give into one he hardly knew? No, he had lied to Aslath. The feeling of being special to him evaporated, leaving behind a sticky hatred.

And S'rei was snarling at Shmee! "Salenth... S'rei..." she begged him, but before she could think to do anything else, his finger was pressing into hers. She let out a cry of pain, releasing the hand. And then he pushed her away! Her face burned red in humiliation at the treatment she was receiving at the hands of her maddened weyrmate. Fresh tears flowed. He hurt her! "Aliscia is nothing to you!" she sobbed, stepping back to him weakly, trying to convince herself of this as well as him. The normal S'rei wouldn't look twice at another woman. Whatever monster had taken over his mind and body seemed out to make sure she suffered from this.

Though Shmee knew that this sort of thing was normal for weyrlife, she had never thought that it would happen to her. Being holdbred, she had grown up and still clung to the idea of one faithful person her whole life. And especially considering Salenth had never done this before, she thought she would be fortunate to never deal with it. She never mentally prepared herself, never had asked for advice about it, and never spoken to S'rei about it herself. For all she knew, he might just drop her for Aliscia when this Flight was over! Far fetched maybe, but to her, seeing the look on his face when he looked at Aliscia, it seemed too possible. "S'rei is mine!" she sobbed, screeching at the greenrider. So what if she wouldn't understand what Shmee was talking about? The woman couldn't be left to take her weyrmate from her!

S'rei had reached out his hand. Desperately, Shmee took it, pulling it back into her chest. "I'm Shmee, your weyrmate Shmee!" she pleaded, begging him to remember, even though some little bit of her knew it was all in vain. She couldn't let him too near Aliscia, if for her own safety, too. That knife did not go unnoticed, but she would risk it to try and keep S'rei with her.

"Please remember!" she sobbed.

Out in the Weyr, Aslath had miserably pulled herself off the weyrledge. Salenth didn't need that present she had looked for for so long. Liars didn't deserve gifts. Her eyes whirled gray and red, clouded with betrayal and rage. She had planned to give this present to Salenth later that day. Landing on the weyrledge where she had hidden her present, she picked up with her claws. A giant tree, roots and all, had been stashed in one of the unused singles for keeping secret. It had a few blossoms on them that were quickly drying-- or dying. Nevertheless, she found it looked beautiful, and was pondering the right moment to give it to Salenth. Well, he didn't need a bloody tree. Pushing it from the high weyrledge, it toppled to the ground (namely her own weyrledge) with a heavy smack that was likely to be heard across the Weyr. She remained there even after the dust faded. She was shaking. Salenth was a liar.

[marissa]

He crooned his appreciation of this wonderful beauty before him as she dropped, her tail missing Ermieth’s by very, very little. This did not discourage him in the least: he simply angled himself sharply downwards, leveling out again behind Tanith, although not as close as before. He did not want to risk that lovely tail, nor enlisting himself in the green’s black books for crowding her. No, no, the bronze wanted only to Fly with her, to prove that her beauty, her grace, was comparable to no other, and therefore deserved only the very best. That was he. No other was good enough for this wonderful, spectacular creature that danced through the skies. She was superior to all other, and he was the only one that could appreciate her!

When she began her ascent once more, Ermieth followed, easily matching her altitude with fierce strokes of his much-wider wings. However, when she did a direct turn, he was mid-wingbeat. The bronze barely contemplated his movements: he simply dropped, did a wider turn, and then beat his wings as fast as he could to make up for the lost distance. It wasn’t long at all before he was behind her once more, and no one could fault him for not being able to execute a plan to keep up with his glorious green. He could not twist or turn, but neither could the other two bronzes, and they were the real competition. Tanith wouldn’t stoop to pick such a lowly, annoying blue, would she? Not an exquisite creature such as herself!

Words were forced through his mind, a loud jumble that Ermieth took only the briefest amount of time deciphering, his main focus never leaving Tanith. He followed her over the jungle, mentally shoving Aslath’s words from his mind. This was not her flight. She was not in control of the skies, today. No, today, right now, a real and superb beauty was in control of the skies, and she was wielding that power. Aslath was powerless, unless she wanted to be dramatic, and post a fight with Tanith, and maybe Salenth, right here in the skies.

Ermieth only bugled his appreciation when she rolled in mid-air, his own body swerving right and left. He couldn’t roll; if he tried, it would only cause disaster and disgust from his lovely Tanith. He hissed at the blue Tekisith when the dragon did execute those rolls. Show off. But no matter, his green was intelligent, and would never, ever choose a petty blue when there were three bronzes, and one immaculate bronze (himself, in case there was any doubt) in the skies. Ermieth was sure that no dragon had the idiocy to anger the beauty, called Tanith, by paying any more attention than a blinks-worth on that gold Aslath. Why would you think about a far-off spot of gold, when a glowing emerald, a beautiful emerald, an intriguing emerald, was right in front of you?

Tanith dove into the clouds, and Ermieth wasn’t too far behind. He returned her blasting trumpet with another bugle, assuring her that he wasn’t dazed by any gold. And even if he had been, for a moment: obviously she wasn’t as wonderful a creature as Tanith, for her own weyrmate had left her to get to this immaculate creature! Searching through the clouds, Ermieth shot towards any speck of green he found, and was therefore able to stay behind her pretty well. Not close enough to invoke her wrath, of course, but still pretty close.

When Aliscia hissed at him, A’noan only crooned and took a step back. He was too far gone to show the anger that the real A’noan would have felt at being hissed at. No, he might as well have been Ermieth, the dazed creature that was too far gone with Tanith’s glowing beauty to see anything else, to hear anything else. He would not respond to the blue, not here on the ground. Tekisith/I’mny was not important, was not a threat until the very end, and surely by then Tanith/Aliscia will have noticed that this bronzepair, Ermieth/A’noan, was by far the best choice? They would not give up, especially when Aliscia was doing things like that towards them. Crooning again, the bronzerider reached out his hand the slightest bit, before letting it drop. No, he would not get too close.

[kysseh]

((Sorry, Missa, but I don't want to drag this out. Not with life getting as crazy as it is. Feel free to still post, though! I'm gonna assume that Rinth is still Chasing...))

Tanith shrieked in absolute fury as the two idiots refused to give her the space she wanted, and she deliberately slowed her forward momentum and dove from just out of the cloud cover. This would teach them to crowd her, those pathetic little brats! She flipped to her left side and dove, striking out at the show-off of a blue with one hind foot as she passed before pumping her wings to regain her altitude, slipping back amongst the clouds. If the blue's flattery was registered, it went unrecognized. She knew that the idiot gold was jealous; she did not need that rutting blue to tell her that simple fact! He should have spent more time practicing his maneuvers than perfecting a silly speech, for she was going to leave him in the dust.

It did not escape her notice that the most arrogant of the bronzes was angry at the blue for his agility, and she arched her neck as she zipped in and out of the clouds. So... that stupid creature was feeling threatened. She liked that. That was almost enough justice for the fact that he would not stay off her tail... but, she would deal with that later. He was a big bronze and a good flier, she would give him that. But he was certainly not impressing her by riding her tail as such, and she snarled angrily at him to back off.

The youngest of her suitors seemed to be keeping up admirably, and she flared her wings in recognition of that. Yes, she was quite the treat, if he had the stamina to keep up. She was not partial to the young ones, usually, but the fact that he had the nerve and brains to come up after her did earn him some points. The glint of bronze at the edge of her vision made her turn to glance back in the other direction... at the source of the contention. HA! That stupid gold had not kept her bronze on a short enough leash or had not pleased him properly, for he was following her now, ignoring the queen's protest. His bugle of reassurance and aerial prowess in remaining in her sight were... well, pleasing. He was at least trying to impress her, which counted for something.

However, Tanith was not done fooling with these idiots yet, for she suddenly darted upward into the clouds, away from their gazes. She flipped back over and dove straight downwards, lagging just enough that she dove just behind the males that, until a few moments before, had been chasing her. Now she was spreading her wings to soar in an entirely different direction, uttering a lusty warble of a come-on. Here, here, here... over here! She was in this direction!She glanced backwards, eager to see which of the males had tripped over themselves in trying to follow. That stupid blue would likely be the quickest to respond, but the queen's kept bronze seemed the more capable flier. But... who knew? She flicked her tail and dipped her wings to tempt them, ignoring the sudden beginnings of aches in her muscles. She was not yet near spent, but the need to choose a mate was swiftly overriding the need to tease. She wanted to be properly Flown now.

Aliscia's angry hiss echoed Tanith's upset, and she slipped closer to I'mny to deliver a scratching slap to his face, determined to make him lose that possessiveness that characterized him. Ohh, how dare he think that she was his! She belonged to no one! The slim woman slipped back again, growling low in her throat despite the fact that she did not outright dismiss him. He was a good flier... he had potential. But he was stepping dangerously close to a line, and she would not permit him to cross it without her consent.

The most youthful bronze she barely looked over, enough to know that this lusty young creature was not of her usual choice. She preferred the older... the wiser... the more experienced. But, if the youngling could prove himself, then he would find this green a most willing partner, and she tilted her head to one side, watching him through lust-glazed eyes. The arrogant Ermieth/A'noan, however, was rewarded with only a lift of her chin, a widening of her eyes. He had given her some of the space she required, but the idiot refused to stop reaching for her. No... there, he had given up. She sniffed haughtily. That was better. He was learning. He had some potential too, at least.

She was interested when the bronze flat-out rejected his leech and removed her from his view, angling her body a bit so he could get a better look. The gold was screeching at her, but Aliscia only curled her upper lip in a snarl. She was not welcome! This was her Flight and her males, and the hand on the knife tightened in a threatening manner. When the bronze reached as if in an effort to plead with her for forgiveness, she allowed him a low hum, permitting him to stay. The clingy creature kept trying to snatch him for herself, but he watched Aliscia and Aliscia alone, and she stroked her free hand down her own side, just to make that she had his attention... and all of their attention for that matter.

Tanith's sudden turn from tricks to choices floated into Aliscia's consciousness as well, and the little woman arched one eyebrow as she looked lazily over her options. Handsome... good fliers... brave. Some were too brave, though, but she batted her eyelashes once at the poor blue just to make sure he was not wholly dissuaded. See how lovely she was? Yes, she was still interested in him and all of them, and the way she rotated around once in place gave the distinct impression of showing off her shapely figure. Now, which one was the most worthy of her remained to be seen...

[reqqy]

Salenth kept close track of the green gem darting in and out of the clouds, his hearts catching for a moment as she dove between two of his rivals. An unreasonable part of him was jealous. They were getting the attention - even if it was negative - and he just wanted Tanith to notice him. That was all. It wasn't too much to ask, he thought. But then his thinking mind took over for a moment. No, that kind of attention was bad. He didn't want that. The bronze was smart enough to learn from the mistakes of the arrogant bronze and the equally arrogant blue; he did not attempt to close the distance in a fit of jealousy.

Ah, but now she was even preening before the youngling. Why did she despise him so? Was it because he didn't stick close, though she clearly didn't want that? Salenth shored himself up. He was here to chase her, to give her the respect and admiration she deserved, this glowing, brilliant green. That was the only reason he was here. If he might have the honor of flying her, he would be more than grateful. Overjoyed. He'd show her his capabilities then, but only if she chose him. Otherwise there would just be the hints from the Flight for her to wonder about, if they'd caught her attention at all.

Some part of him, though, insisted that - ah. A glance. She saw him at the very least, and though she made no outward sign of approval, at least it wasn't disapproval. That lightened him. Buoyed him. His wings swept the clouds, beating only as much as was needed. He wanted to be able to remain in the air far longer if the Chase bore fruit, to do justice by her Choice. Serpentining between the wisps, he kept sight of her. Soon she would begin to tire, he thought. The fact that she had not turned to the blue yet was encouraging. For all his showiness, he had not won her just yet.

Ah, and the beautiful, cunning beauty was suddenly spearing upwards. Because Salenth had not followed the pack mentality of flying in Tanith's wake directly - because he did not think himself so powerful as to take such a divine creature by surprise and make her his, rather than leave the choice to the one it should be left to - he was in a better position. Circling her path upwards in almost lazy spirals, it took just a dip of the wing to readjust as her course drew her past him, a few dragonlengths from his reach. Salenth fell into a dive, leveling out just before he left the cover of the clouds. He wanted to respond to her call, but restrained himself, pushing his wings to overtake her for the first time since the Flight began. The others were having to recover from her unexpected move, and this was his chance to be noticed. Maybe not appreciated, but that was not his role in this Flight. Only Tanith deserved such reverence.

The bronze caught flashes of green beneath him, moving slightly to the side. He didn't want her to think he was making a grab for her. Shards, no! Salenth just wanted a chance to fly with her, unencumbered by the other males - if only for a moment. Then the clouds petered out. Surely the other males would have mostly recovered by now, but the point was that they'd be behind. The bronze was slightly in front and to the side, casting a shadow over her snout as he dipped into an almost lackadaisical barrel roll, crooning softly. And, again for the first time, he spoke to his beauty. Nothing of jealousy. Nothing of other males, or that intruding voice. Just five little words. Thank you for the dance. Like a soft carress.

His path kept him well clear of her, but also clearly visible as his body twirled, spilling altitude and completing the revolution on the side in which he'd started, now a dragonlength below her. They were now practically neck-in-neck. He continued to drift toward the left, a few strokes of his wings bringing him up on a level, where he dipped his wing to her in silent salute before allowing his lovely guide to take the lead once more, his own path still off to the side rather than directly behind. Thus far, it had suited him well.

***

S'rei/Salenth watched her through her hissing, a feral gleam of muted delight at her violent reaction to one of her suitors. He'd hardly noticed the man until he came within the green's sphere of influence. Such a delight, watching the beauty in action. His mind contrived other actions of passion, though none that involved angry scratching. She'd forgiven him. His heart thundered from relief - and something else - tinting his skin a ruddy hue. He dipped his head in gratitude, though he never once took his eyes off her lithe form. That would have been like denying himself the very air he breathed.

But the harpy was back! He growled low in the back of his throat, never taking his eyes off his green - his desire. That creature was short enough, after all, that he could see the small, nubile green over her head, and he was not willing to waste any more of his energy on the parasite. Not initially. Until she screeched at the object of his devotion. Such aggression wasn't about to be tolerated. He didn't listen to the resulting pleas at all - the voice was unsavory, as it wasn't Aliscia's - and this time he fought the force of her grip as she attempted to get him to touch her again. Oh, he could grip her from there, but that was perhaps too cruel, even now. And he didn't want to waste the time it would take. Such a position was not ideal for what he intended.

The dragon man's hand snapped about to capture her wrist in return, and he yanked her forward, over his foot, and about so that she ended up facing toward Aliscia again in her backward momentum. Then he simply released her arm. S'rei ignored the sound of her hitting the ground, instead taking a step forward, just enough to be sure he was now between her and his lovely green, who preened for him. For all of them, he ammended silently. Ah, but her eyes seemed to speak to him and draw him in, as if it were only he and her, a low growl of appreciation emitting from his throat as she pivoted. Each graceful curve tested his will, each dainty pirouet. Oh how he wanted to take her into his arms right now!

His eyes clouded with lust and the effort it took to restrain himself.

[ryanne]

Tekisith watched her as she abruptly slowed and then turned, but he wasn’t able to get out of the way before she lashed out at him, scratching his tail. He took the injury in stride though, ignoring the pain that lashed through him and the ichor that dripped steadily from his tail. It just fueled his want for her more. She thought he was unworthy, but he would prove himself otherwise. It just made the chase even harder and the value of the prize greater. She was beautiful and wonderful and he would Catch her, even with the injury that she gave him. She was more than worth it.

He continued to try and ignore the competitors around him. They weren’t worthy of his attention; only Tanith was, the glowing beauty in front of him. He twisted after her, up and through the clouds, continuing to croon at her lovingly. She really was the perfect green, strong, fast, intelligent, beautiful. He would follow her and follow her well. He would win this Flight, he would Catch his green and none other would even come close. His attempt to ignore the bronzes failed though.

The small blue snarled at the one closest to him, snapping at Emerith angrily. He was too close and he was going to get in his way. Drawing on his speed, he spun around, darting up and around and through all of the other unworthy suitors. She would pay attention to him again; she would see that even if she wounded him, he was still the best and he still wouldn’t give up. He followed her through the clouds, weaving in and out with the speed that only blues and greens could command.

I’mny crooned to her as she slapped him, not even bothering to cover the mark with his hand. He was too focused on Tanith/Aliscia to even begin to care. She was paying him attention and, even though it was negative, the feel of her hand against his face just fueled his lust more. He growled at her a bit, not angrily, just with want. He needed her and she knew it. He would win her and all these others people in this room would be left wanting her and jealous of him.

The others in the room earned another growl from him, this one was full of anger. They needed to leave, give up, and leave her for him. He was the only one who was fast enough, quick enough, lithe enough to Catch her. The others were too big, too bulky for her. She was his green, not theirs and they needed to give up. He growled again, low in his throat before taking a step back, clearly ceding her the distance that she so desired. He wasn’t giving up, no, he was fighting hard, just from a distance.

[marissa]

Finally, Ermieth huffed, falling back a bit so that he was not right behind her after she shrieked. He just wanted to make sure that he was ahead of the crowd. There was nothing wrong with that! When she escaped the cloud cover, the bronze followed at a good distance, making sure that he didn’t get too close. He watched as she flipped, dove, and struck out at that sharding blue, crooning his approval.

The bronze followed, swerving more to the sides than the exquisite Tanith was doing. If she turned her head, it was most likely that she would see him, rather than any of his competitors. Even that bronze, who could not stay pleased with a gold, and therefore had to try and get this beauty, as well. Ermieth did not like that. He did not deserve the beauty that lay within the green Tanith, This bronze, the best bronze, the most worthy bronze, was the only creature that might even come close to deserving her! And he would have her, because she would understand what he had understood from the very beginning. She just had to, if only because he did not want some petty blue, or unworthy, weyrling bronze, or a double-dipping bronze, to take her. It would just be wrong.

She then disappeared within the clouds, and Ermieth snarled when the blue snapped at him. He was a worthless, petty little creature, and this bronze would not have it! He rose, turned, and tried to find her within the cloud cover once more. There was no flash of green, however, and when he left it again, the bronze was thoroughly surprised to see that she was behind the pack of chasers, instead of in front of it.

Ermieth dipped, rose, and then fell back a bit, so that he wasn’t crowding her. He crooned, hoping to draw her attention back to him again. He was the best! He had found her! Didn’t that deserve something?

A’noan had finally ceased to reach out for his desired prize, and he had stepped even further back from Tanith/Aliscia as his bronze did. He crooned when Erm did, and the rider waited, waited, waited for her to notice him. Her eyes grazed over him, and his mouth quirked. He wanted to win. He needed to win. He needed to Catch his beautiful, wonderful, immaculate prize.

The other competitors did not matter in the least. They did not nearly measure up to the wonder that his Tanith held, that he himself held. A'noan/Ermieth deserved their beautiful green, and they would get her. He didn't even give the others in the room, especially including the insane gold, a second glance, nor a second thought. The only one of any matter here was Aliscia, and the only one that mattered in the skies was Tanith. It was as simple as that.