do you have a first-aid kit? {Calistoth's Flight}

[glamourie]

"Showoff? Where are you?"

The bronze salamandyr was missing. For Showoff, that was an unusual behavior and usually a sign of something more malicious at play - like the bronze salamandyr stealing something from someone else or terrorizing an unsuspecting firelizard, regardless of whether or not it was larger than him. The confusion he felt from Showoff was enough to make him seek him out. Only in the past few days had the bronze 'mandyr bothered to leave K'lir's side for more than a few moments at a time. (He was unbelievably possessive, after all.) But he couldn't focus enough to locate the bronze - or maybe Showoff simply did not want to be found. Whatever it was, it unnerved K'lir as he stepped into his weyr and looked around. He'd just come from the bath, as evidenced by the fact that he was wearing absolutely nothing but a towel, though he held another to dry his hair.

Where had that bronze salamandyr run off to? He realized Calistoth was unbearable to be around of late (for anyone but him; she had a minimal tolerance for him that was likely spawned of her affection for her rider, or at the least a possessiveness K'lir could respect) but that was no reason to be hiding throughout the night. Not that Trouble was any better; the brown flitter, too, was gone, though where he'd flown off to was anyone's guess. He'd been upset ever since Calistoth (who he spent more time around than he spent with K'lir thanks to Showoff's meddling) became ... more grouchy than usual. Not that she was ever an exceptionally pleasant dragon by most standards, but still.

On the subject, where was she? Aside from a growing feeling of agitation and emotions he didn't want to think about, he wasn't entirely sure where the green had gone. It was early in the evening true enough, but K'lir didn't like it when Calistoth left his side. More than once he'd had to keep her from trying to kill Jeminorth in some kind of strange show of dominance that, while not unusual, was inappropriate behavior. Not that he blamed her as Jeminorth was responsible for the few mars to an otherwise perfect and gorgeous hide, but that didn't justify killing her and Rielana and he doubted that Shmee would approve of such a course of action, let alone Aslath. Keeping his green in check was becoming a full time responsibility that he barely had the tolerance for. The fact that her violence was coupling with his didn't help. He had the strangest, growing urge to rip someone's arms off. Or their legs. Or their throats out --

-- throats. Calistoth?

Freezing, K'lir brought one hand to his face. Calistoth and K'lir shared one thing in common. They didn't... flirt by traditional means. Calistoth was a touch better most of the time in the respect that she would often suck up to bronzes for attention, and Thoth who she seemed to view as property, but both of them were not friendly individuals. He'd known Calistoth was close to flight when it became harder to ignore just how delicious Uu'n looked without his shirt, but unlike some people, K'lir hadn't responded to it. He had, instead, been generally more grouchy than usual. That grouchiness had gotten steadily worse, and a cold feeling running through his veins told him that he was about to find out why. He could feel a hunger not entirely for meat, and K'lir backed up until his back met wall and closed his eyes. Greens didn't normally blood their kill - their flights weren't usually that long - but Calistoth wanted to kill something. Kill and hurt. And he wasn't about to let her gorge herself on meat right before rising. Stopping her from doing so took every ounce of effort he had, but Calistoth was no gold - and one death, however messy and bloody it was, was enough to satisfy her. Her claws were stained scarlet, the same shade as her eyes.

Calistoth ---

Her name was the last fully conscious and singular thought he had as a feeling of cold, almost selfish composure washed over him - feelings not his own. K'lir was insecure but Calistoth was anything but. She knew she was the most beautiful green on all of Pern and she fully expected every other dragon in the entire Weyr to recognize it; why shouldn't they? Even when she wasn't close to flight, her hide was the purest gemstone green, almost seeming to glow, but as she curled up on the ledges of the cliffs surrounding the Weyr, there was nothing subtle about her hide at all. She looked as though someone lit a fire beneath her hide, shining green radiance for all to see. One loud shriek - loud enough to be heard across the entire Weyr - was all that she offered as challenge (she knew it would be enough!) before she literally threw herself off the side of the highest point of the cliffs. The wind caught beneath her wingsails and she was in the air, the brightest star in the sky at twilight.

[missa]

Thoth had been strangely quiet the entire day, it was making Beka think he was sick or something, just the way he would only answer a question, he didn't just randomly make observations. Leaning against the wall of her weyr, Beka eyed the blue suspiciously. This wasn't normal, then again, since when was Thoth normal? He'd some how become fond of the only green that would snap his head off at random times, he might have the patience to deal with Calistoth, but that didn't make him any less strange.

Anai was sitting on her shoulder, but Pita was on one of his many travels about the weyr, it was something she was grateful for, she could really only deal with one of them at a time, they were constantly bickering, and now Thoth was acting odd. Yes, one crisis at a time. Lifting a hand to stroke Anai's shoulder, Beka smiled as the green rubbed her head her head along her bonded's cheek. It was nice to have a sweet flitt to conteract the pain in the backside that was Pita.

Thoth's attention suddenly seemed to swing from random staring at the sky to something else, to something she couldn't see.
"Thoth?" Cautiously stepping towards her dragon, Beka's eyes narrowed as her bonded slowly rose, wary of him for the first time, slowly, his head turned towards her and he rumbled,
Calistoth rises. It was only two words, but it had any colour draining out of Beka's face in a heartbeat as her heart clenched in panic,
"No, Thoth, no. Please, don'ty chase. You haven't shown any interest-" That wasn't entirely true, he'd been distracted all day, this had to be why. He'd been showing interest, and she hadn't noticed. How could that be right?

He seemed to be obeying, he relaxed slightly, then shook his wedged head,
Mine, I want to. I want her. Please Mine, this is the only time I would disobey you. His voice was as soft as ever and he shifted his weight again, and Beka shook her head again in panic, this couldn't be happening to her. So much for being safe. A shriek echoed out over the weyr, and that seemed to be Thoth's signal, leaping from the weyrledge with a loud bugle.

Beka watched him go with a sinking heart, biting down on her lip as she shooed Anai from her shoulder. She couldn't really say no, it wasn't really fair to him, besides, what was the likely hood of him catching, like, none. So it was fine, she could be okay with this, if not the feelings his Chase caused. Flight rooms, yes, right. She could do that.

[boober]

There had been nothing off about Dramuth’s behavior, no warning whatsoever. The brown was always quiet, made a habit of keeping to himself, even around His. Aryna had just returned from her run and was pulling off her boots. She was damp with sweat and water from her swim across the river, and had every intention of taking a bath. Clover was clinging to the wall beside her, watching her mine-thing and waiting for the first opportunity to latch back onto her person. It was the salamandyr who’d been giving odd vibes all day, wanting to latch and cling even more than usual. The green was somewhat independent, and had no qualms about wandering off on her own if the whim took her. But she’d stayed tight by Aryna’s side all day, and her constant presence was becoming an annoyance to the brown rider.

With a sudden screech, the salamandyr darted to the floor and took off, vanishing who knew where. Aryna scowled after her… what was that silly creature doing now? Shaking her head somewhat, she rose and unfastened her belt, pulling it off and tossing it onto the furs. She had her tunic about halfway up her body, ready to pull it off, when Calistoth’s cry reached her ears. The brown rider froze, knowing with no uncertainty that it was not the green’s usual call. Dropping the edge of her shirt, she whirled around to look at Dramuth. The brown was resting on his ledge, but every line of his body was tense as he watched the spectacle below. There was a weyrling blue chasing after her, so far her only suitor. He could outfly a blue, certainly, especially a weyrling. In fact… it wouldn’t be fair. He should wait for a more mature dragon’s Flight.

“Dramuth, go after her.” The brown rumbled quietly, a sound of discontent.

She is but a weyrling. Aryna lifted an eyebrow at her dragon’s response, taking a few steps toward him for a more unobstructed view.

“So what then? Are you afraid that you’ll not be able to catch her, with her being so much younger and faster than you?” There wasn’t anything nice about her tone, and Dramuth knew exactly what she was doing. Even so, anger flared in the brown and he whirled around to face His, eyes whirling with lust and something else.

I am not! With nothing more said between them, the brown swept out of his weyr in a backlash of wind, launching himself into the air to soar after Calistoth and Thoth. He made no sound, no announcing bugle to let her know that he had joined in the chase. She would know of his presence whether he announced himself or not. Therefore Dramuth flew through the canyon and rose on powerful wings to give chase to the glowing green in the sky. Aryna stood watching from their weyr, gaze intense as one hand came up to brush damp hair from her face. After a moment, she turned and left. She was going to go find K’lir.

[ryanne]

Yiminth was no where to be seen all day. R'lor was used to having the brown at his side, even though he was getting to be full-sized. The brown followed him wherever he could fit, loving to still curl up next to His even though he was now much bigger than his rider. It was odd that he wasn't there...wasn't to be found all day. R'lor had made it through his chores without a single interruption or without his dragon managing to plant him on his backside with a miscalculated sweep of his tail. No, he was left alone and he wasn't okay with that. He wanted his big teddy bear of a dragon back.

The brown, however, had no intentions of returning to his rider. He felt the presence of the beautiful green and he wasn't going to be the last in the air after her. He perched on the ledge, feeling the gradual build to the Flight. He would Chase her and he would Catch her. No one could get in his way. These thoughts were odd for the calm, unassuming brown, but he knew what he wanted and Calistoth was what he wanted. He managed to shield such thoughts from his rider, his last shred of affection making him want for his rider to be able to continue about the day normally. He was just going to wait, though, and when she Flew, he would be right behind her, following her through the skies.

R'lor, on the other hand, was worried. He wanted to know what was up with his dragon. Just as he reached out for his mindmate, though, a shriek rang through the weyr. Calistoth was Flying. Yiminth immediately launched into the air. He had no need for blood or meat, he'd taken a beast yesterday and he still had plenty of strength. His mind was focused solely on the green, a small apologetic emotion thrown towards his rider. R'lor almost groaned. He did not need this right now. Flights were great and everything, but he'd had enough of them after that awful gold Flight.

But still he headed toward the Flight rooms. If he was going to do this, he was going to do this properly. He would make sure that his dragon didn't have to deal with any resistance on his behalf and he would make sure that they had the best chance. He was a little concerned because this was Yiminth's first Flight and Calistoth wasn't the most gentle of creatures, but he wasn't going to argue with whom his dragon chose to Fly after. He would probably never understand, well, she was a beauty. Maybe it did make a little sense. He laughed a little to himself, entering the Flight room.

I'm Chasing, he stated simply, not bothering for a further explanation as he swept down towards the cliffs. Be careful, R'lor offered up, not bothering to try to hold his mind away from his dragon's. Flights were a part of the weyr and a part of dragonriding, he knew better than to fight. Just be sure and Catch her, he added competitively. He didn't want Yiminth to lose his first Flight even though most of the time, dragons did. I will try, he answered before ignoring His completely. Quite suddenly, Calistoth became the only focus of his thoughts. This beauitful green would be his! R'lor sighed and released himself completely to the connection, joining his dragon in marveling the beauty of green as they shot after her.

[glamourie]

Only three? Typical. Aslath's fault. Calistoth was annoyed, though not terribly surprised. She couldn't compete with a queen even though she truly believed she should have been able to. She was Calistoth, by far the most glorious of all the greens on Pern, and she was faintly agitated that only three males saw her glory for what it was. But if only three were there, then only those three were worthy of her acknowledgment... and there would be hell to pay for those who did not give Chase. For a green, Calistoth had a remarkable memory, particularly for grievances, and she would not forget a slight as considerable as not being worthy of being Chased. Woe betide the fools who were not smart enough to be in the air after her, queenflight recently or not. She was just as worthy of their attentions as Aslath, since they could not all have the queen. She would show them just how worthy she was. None of them would be capable of catching her. She may have been smaller than Aslath, but no one could hold a contest to a green's agility in the sky... and Calistoth had a mean streak a dragonlength wide.

Shrieking back to her three suitors (two browns; not a bad turn-out all together, that in mind), Calistoth took off down the path of the river, following the line of water with her gaze. Her wings beat rapidly, picking up more and more speed and she started upward. Over the jungle she flew, high enough not to hit the trees, but low enough that those who weren't careful might be confused by the splash of green from her hide and the leaves at the tree top - and that was the point of it; a natural camouflage. She intended to fly near and around the jungle as far and wide as she could, and her suitors would have to learn to dodge brush. She was a Selenitas green and not so easy to catch. They would find out soon enough. By no means was she predictable, and by no means was she fair. Only the best would do for her. First flight or not, she was going to give them all a taste of just how wonderful she truly was. She would make those who were too ignorant to Chase her regret their decision... and later, she would make them pay in blood.

Moving into a zig-zag pattern, Calistoth looked behind herself only once before veering upward sharply in an almost total vertical ascent at the edge of the jungle. The movement hurt, sending a shiver through her that made K'lir back into the wall and press himself firmly against it, eyes clenched. The movement was unconscious but the pain Calistoth felt from that sudden movement was his pain, and his arms stung. She did not let that one shiver of pain distract her though as she abruptly turned on her wingtip and zoomed off at a different angle, a loud bugle challenging the males to dare what she had just done. Would any of them be able to turn so sharply? She very highly doubted it!

[missa]

A soft growl started in his throat as Thoth caught sight of the browns chasing his green. How dare they think them selves worthy of Calistoth, of beautiful Calistoth. A low snort met this thought, and Thoth shook his head slowly at the browns, no one was worthy of Calistoth. Silk and steel all combined in one, she might be beautiful and graceful, but she was also strong and determined.

Whirling eyes followed her as she turned to follow the river, following her as quickly as he could. She was so beautiful, so clever, so... There weren't enough words in the world to describe the glowing green in front of him. Glancing at the others once before darting after her as quickly as he could, Thoth's attention became completely focused on Calistoth. Where was she headed? What was she think- The jungle. For one such as Calistoth and even him, flying over the jungle and avoiding the trees wouldn't be a big deal, for the bigger browns... Well, he'd just have to see how well they kept up. Right now, he was feeling rather smug about being blue rather than any bigger colour.

It was amazing how her hide looked so simillar to the trees, Thoth would have to keep his attention solely on her, not to loose her for even a moment. Even a moment could be bad... No, even a moment would be bad. Her zig zag pattern was probably not the best to copy, it would cover less space and would tire him out faster and- She was going up again, wasn't she ever going to be predictable? Crooning softly to her as he began the sharp ascent, Thoth ignored the twinge of pain in his wings, enjoying the tiny advantage his small...er size gave him. Then she was turning again! Could he even match that? Had to try, though there was no way his turn would be as sharp as hers. How long could she keep these wonderful stunts up?

Beka did not want to be there, quite honestly, she was panicking, and it showed. It showed quite plainly as she glanced at K'lir and backed away from him. As if putting distance between herself and the green, uh green rider would help keep her mind functioning away from Thoth's passion. Swallowing her terror, Beka glanced around as though hoping someone else would turn up before... Before what? She had no idea, but the unknown was more frightening than knowing. Choking down panic, tears and fear, Beka finally gave in, letting her mind become one with Thoth's.

[ryanne]

Yiminth wasn't surprised by her shriek. Calistoth was a forceful green, a beautiful green, a strong green. She would challenge her Chasers and even the young brown knew that. He knew that he would have to work and work hard if he wanted the chance to twine with the beautiful green. She was going to make them work for it, work harder than Yiminth had ever worked. But he was up for it, he would follow her wherever she flew and he would do it to the best of his ability.

So down towards the river he flew, pushing his wings hard so that he would keep up with the quick green. The short incline to fly above the trees wasn't hard and he managed to follow her, staying a little her right and a good dragonlength behind. Something instinctual told him to give her her space. She would not take well to being crowded this early in the Flight. Yiminth wasn't going to get himself hurt by her in the Flight, but he did plan on winning.

It was hard to keep his eyes on her over the jungle, but he managed it. The intensity of her glow set her apart, leaving her to be the only thing that Yiminth could see. He ignored the trees and the leaves. It caused him to brush them a few times on his underbelly, but he didn't lose sight of Calistoth and he was still within her pack of Chasers. His wings weren't strained for the work, he was a brown after all. She hadn't led them through any tricky turns or twists, so he was still holding his own in the Flight. His endurance would hopefully let him outdistance the others in the end.

But then she began to zig-zag. Yiminth almost panicked for a moment, but then he began to dip each wingtip when he wanted to follow her pattern. Clumsily, he moved as she did, following her path though he did fall to the back of the pack for a few moments. He would be able to catch up though, once he got the hang of the movement. He refused to lose his green and no little flight pattern was going to change that mindset.

Just as they were about to leave the jungle, Calistoth disappeared. It took Yiminth a split second to find her again, seeing her rising straight up into the air. Since he was at the back of the pack, he started his incline, angling it more so that he'd still reach the same point, he just started further back. It worked for him because there was no way that he'd be able to climb as she was. He strained his wings to keep up, flying his fastest to regain his position behind her. And just when he'd caught back up, she turned sharply, calling for them to follow.

Yiminth swung his body around a bit wide, turning as sharply as he dared. A few more beats of his wings and he was behind her again, responding with a soft croon of his own, letting her know that he was still here and following. He would Chase until she Chose and hopefully she would see that he was the best of her follows. None other would work as hard as he was.

R'lor could feel the strain that his dragon was throwing forth, but all he could see was the green in front of him. Mentally, he urged the brown on, giving him strength and support subconsciously while still lusting after the beautiful, glowing green that was leading them on such a wild chase. The only time the look of longing lapsed from his face was when he fell behind in the zig zag pattern, but he regained it the moment that the brown learned the movement. He was going to win the green. They were going to win their greens!

[glamourie]

She would make them suffer to earn her affections. That was Calistoth's thoughts, at least at first. Another rapid spiral and twist, an impressive show of agility if ever there was one, but her wings began to burn, aching from tip to where they connected to her body, and a realization dawned on her; blooding or not, she didn't have the stamina to keep her high speeds and quick turns up for as long as she would have liked. Calistoth wasn't massive for a green, after all, though she was by no means small either. The flight had gone on long enough that she was satisfied, though - satisfied enough to turn her head back to look at her chasers and bugle a threat to them. Then she abruptly pulled her wings in and spiraled downward, first past Yiminth, one claw stretching out to rake across the side of his flank (not enough to do anything more than create a light injury, but enough to make it clear Calistoth had noticed him; in the back of her mind she had marked him, claimed him as one of 'hers' - and that meant any other green he chased would be lucky to survive her wrath) and then toward Thoth. Yiminth was too close to grab onto, but he wasn't her first choice anyway.

Nor was Dramuth. She passed him and narrowly missed a collision with him, but did not appear to notice the older brown as more than a physical presence. He should have been more interesting as the oldest and most experienced there, but feelings not quite her own pushed him out of her mind. K'lir's feelings in part; Dramuth was barely an associate to Calistoth, but she was one with K'lir and all K'lir saw was Aryna, friend and sometimes-wrestling buddy. Nothing more, nothing less. Dramuth was completely out of the question. While he was most definitely a handsome brown, Thoth was hers. Thoth had always been hers and she would never share him. Never ever.

Hissing (half in agitation at herself for losing strength so 'soon' and half at the fact that she hadn't managed to injure Yiminth more with her claws), Calistoth grabbed onto Thoth, the force considerably more rough than was needed. Her weight pulled against his and it would take his strength to keep them both in the air; if he failed, then he was unworthy of her, she thought smugly. On the ground, K'lir mirrored Calistoth, turning to R'lor to scratch him across the arm with nails considerably more dull than Calistoth's razor-edged claws. The mark wouldn't scar unless it wasn't cleaned properly. K'lir's nails simply weren't sharp enough. Aryna's presence was mostly ignored, except for a glazed-eyed glance that begged the question of whether he saw her at all. But Beka did not fair quite so well, for while his nails lacked, there was no denying that K'lir was physically strong for his size. He turned to her as little more than a redheaded whirlwind and positively yanked her toward him, his hands clenching around her arms with force enough to bruise. If he'd been in his right mind he would have felt guilty for being so rough with one of the few people he considered a friend, but K'lir's mind was tangled with Calistoth's, lost somewhere in flightlust. He saw and heard no one else.



[ Did I mention I suck at flights? ]