Forest Meets Sky- Orylth's Flight

[Terayne]

The day had begun as any other, quiet and full of routine. Weyrlings taking their classes, Candidates running around and doing chores, and many a rider being lazy and enjoying themselves with their dragons.

None suspected what was about to take place, what was about to happen...

The coolness of the day had awoken the rider, who was now stretching, fully clothed and getting ready to head for Wing Practice. It was then that she noticed the distinct LACK of movement in the other half of the weyr, and a frown touched her lips as she cocked her head. Tying back her hair quickly, she trotted to her Bonded's lair and stood there, highly confused as to why the normal morning bird was still sound asleep. The light coming in told Ylara that it was almost highsun, and her frown deepened. Why had Orylth let her sleep so long, and why was the Wood herself still out cold?

Moving forwards, she gently touched the swirled hide, making sure that her Bonded was not ill in a way she may not have noticed. No heat rose from her, and her breathing was steady and almost silent. So what...

Suddenly, Orylth's eyes snapped open, and the emotion that raged unexpectedly through Ylara had the woman stumbling backwards, hitting the wall hard as wings snapped open and the Wood darted out onto her ledge, looking towards the sky. Deep within her it rose, the need to fly, to take to the sky and choose a worthy male to sire her children... With a vicious bellow totally unlike her, Orylth launched herself into the sky. She was too small to blood, had no need to, so was able to go straight up after announcing her challenge.

The time had come, for the forest to meet the sky once more...

[summerrain]

S'rico yawned, the little white flit flying circles around his head. She was bored, that much he knew. Little had happened since the last time the Gold Queen rose to mate, and then it was only the Graduation of her first Clutch. He watched as Snowball, his one constant companion since childhood, flew toward the river, landed on the bank, and stuck her head in the water. He laughed when she flew back toward him, surprise flowing over their bond. She hadn't exected the water to be so cold. The day was young, and he had little to do now that drills had been completed. He had heard the tales of the Headwoman's murder, but he had not been here for it himself.

Just then, a roar blasted through the sky, startling the tiny White to the ground, where S'rico deftly swiped her up. "Head to the room," he told her. "Stay there until this is over, alright?" Snowball nodded and vanished between with a soft popping noise. He could feel Aldith's eagerness to begin, and quickly made his way to the room where the Riders had their sides of the Flights.
___________

Aldith was awake instantly. He had been expecting this for some time. He had noticed the change in the elder of the Wood dragonesses at this Weyr. The younger one, he had observed, would not Rise for another few Turns at least, simply because of the young age of Hers. He had been sunning himself on the ledge, all of his Bronze-Crimson glory on display for the Weyr to see. He flared his wings and echoed the bellow from the Rising dragoness, a challange of his own. He flapped his large wings only once, launching himself into the air and catching an updraft. He would show her his splendid colors, the way the Bronze of the Originals and the bright Crimson complimented each other. All of it, he would make her see.

[Shoki]

“About time for practice Quiorith.” R’le leaned back a little bit as Quiorith flatted out his flight pattern. Burn slightly loosed his grip on R’le’s back, but not by much. The trio were meandering back to the Weyr after the morning festivities. T’kar would be putting everyone through their paces, but R’le certainly didn’t want to show up without having warmed up. Burn yawned a little before detangling from the man’s shirt and flying under his own power away. Burn took the time to get a nap in, and then coming back later hungry. Probably for R’le’s sleeves. He had rather gotten used to that.

A loud cry broke the air and R’le frowned. His day was about to get a lot more complicated. A rapid influx of emotion from Quiorith reinforced this and the rider sighed. He waited for Quiorith to drop him before letting the whole thing go. The moment his feet were on the ground the Cloud was away, off into the sky again. R’le brushed his hair out of his eyes and vaguely lamented the loss of practice this afternoon. Still, he wasn’t going to complain, not with Quiorith’s optimism flooding him.

The Cloud rushed to the air, quiet until he spied the rising Orylth. The larger king was also apparent, but all it did was press Quiorith to announce himself. The Cloud gave a cry, his voice not low and booming like a larger dragon’s would, but still he announced himself. He was far from impressive with his cloudy-day hide but he danced on the wind with the best of them, that was true. So he rose into the air, his eyes swirling part with pleasure to be in the air and more with the flightlust that was quickly taking him over.

[Terayne]

The Wood looked back as she heard the two responses, one rich and deep, the other higher, but not any less rich, and she hummed to herself. The odd, dual-colored Bronze-Crimson King, and the silly but enjoyable Cloud. Flipping her body, she again bellowed, acknowledging their presence but also calling again, challenging again. She might be a mere Wood, but she was a CLUTCHING female! Through her, the future survived! So what if she couldn't clutch Queens and Kings! She was as good as ANY Queen!

Growling softly, she flipped again, doing a playful loop and darting downwards again, then back up. She would make them work for her! Would make them PROVE they were good enough to sire her children!

[summerrain]

Aldith knew he didn't quite have the agility of the smaller dragoness, so he waited for her to come back up before displaying his speed. He was a good, fast King, with the blood of a Crimson intermingling with the heart and mind of a Bronze. He looked over at the newest challanger, also a smaller dragon, a Cloud, with slight disdain. In this type of Flight, the smaller dragon was more likely to win due to his agility, but he had the speed and the endurance to outlast any non-Kings. He let himself speed up, slowing when he was the same level as the dragoness, his wingtip glancing hers without doing any damage, then he put more distance between them. She would chose the victor, not the other way around. It was that way with any dragoness in Flight.
______

S'rico made his way quickly to the room. He had found it before, just to be safe, not wanting the Flightlust of a Bronze with tthe blood of a Crimson to be unleashed on some unsuspecting soul. He saw the woman, one he'd had the pleasure of conversing with a few times before. Ylara, he believed was her name. Then he realized that it was a wonder he could think at all. There must be a reason for Aldith resisting, if only a little.

[Shoki]

Quiorith mirrored the dragoness’ actions near perfectly. A loop, a dip, and rising up again. As the rose he corkscrewed, not willing to do anything less than what he felt he could. The bronze hide dipped in red came into view and Quiorith squirmed in the air. It had nothing to do with the fact that his competition was a king, he was well used to that situation. However the daring touching of wingtips had him more frustrated than expected. ‘None of that,’ his body language seemed to say. Perhaps it was not as his current mental state suggested it was, perhaps the Cloud was merely too timid for such a thing. It hardly mattered since his reaction to such a thing was to display some of his better qualities.

As Aldith improved the distance between him and the dragoness, Quiorith suddenly dropped, quickly spiraling downward. He judged the wind, and after a few seconds angled back up, using his momentum to keep him rising with little effort. It required a few more pumps to get him higher, past where the Wood and his competition were at before doing a backflip, a roll to the side finishing with a sudden and neat drop that put him exactly where he had been in relation to the other dragons. The maneuver had been good for the Cloud since he now felt better about everything somehow. He gave a small cry, which was basically the equivalent of ‘ta-da’ hoping that the dragoness had enjoyed his little trick.

[Terayne]

Orylth watched the two males with interest, rumbling softly at Quiroth's display and hissing softly as the King dared to come within touching distance. Too close, she thought, and dove down, away from him. As he backed off, she relaxed again, as far as her current state would allow her to, and continued flying, wondering where the other males were. She was not an ugly dragoness, so why only two? Granted one was a KING, a suitor she'd not had since she had Flown her Maiden Flight, but still... Did no other males wish for the chance to pass on their lineage?

Snorting, the Wood shrugged it off and darted upwards again, through a large cloudbank and into the cooler sky above, then spiralling back downwards. It was a good day to Fly, to prove to that arrogant Archith that Orylth was her equal.

In her weyr, Ylara had made her way to her bed, where she now sat, head in her hands. She'd hit the wall hard when Orylth had darted out, and her head was pounding something fierce, enough that she wasn't fully combined with her dragoness at that moment. She could still feel her emotions, they still heated her blood, but they were tempered by the pain in her head.

[summerrain]

Archith climbed sharply when he allowed himself to be caught by an updraft. The sun shone through his thin wings, leaving a pale red shadow on the creatures below him. He banked left, making sure the sudden tailwind wouldn't take him too far from the Wood dragoness, and went into a wide downward spiral. He did his best to stay behind or beside her, making sure to stay at a distance. The glancing brush of his wingtip was the only touch allowed by the circumstances, and he wanted her to know that he respected her space. He knew in his heart that the true reason he'd been sent from Ista was because of his strange coloring, and he suddenly found himself wondering if there was a dragoness who would want to run the risk of her offspring being sired by such a strangely colored dragon as himself. However, the question remained in his mind for only a moment before returning to the Wood before him.

He had almost gotten too close to the treetops, and angled upward, never touching the treetops with his claws. He caught an updraft and soared back into the sky, his eyes on the dragoness who had Risen this day. She was grand, and a good flier as well. He roared his approval of her, a long, deep bellow to let the Weyr know his acceptance.

[Shoki]

Quiorith had little time to rest, the Wood was on the move again. Down, up into the clouds and down again. Quiorith followed accurately, a little bit of energy buzzing through him from the thrill of the flight and at least a bit from going through a cloud bank. It was a good day to be in the air, and a lovely day to be chasing a dragoness.

The Cloud turned his head slightly at the loud cry from the King. Often enough his competition was stronger, more suited, more colorful then he was. There was, however, that little piece of him that he got from R’le in times like this. He would try his best, and he wasn’t going to apologize for trying. So even if he didn’t call out as well, he followed still, floating along in the wind.

[Terayne]

Orylth continued her darting and playing in the clouds, her body heated and glowing softly, the reddish tones brighter, the darker tones darker. She heard the King's bellow and rumbled to herself, amused with him. She then did a spiraling playing darting manuver, checking to see if Quioroth was still there. She was pleased to see he was, and darted backwards towards the males, teasing the Bronze-Crimson's wing and rubbing up under the Cloud's belly to further encourage him.

She then lunged out in front again, roaring, and just flew hard. Her wings were beginning to strain, and her muscles to burn. She was no Queen, unfortunately, so couldn't Fly for long. But she would make these males work for her, for the right to pass on their lines...

[summerrain]

Aldith looked at the Wood dragoness as she touched his wing. He knew it was her decision to touch him, that he had invaded her space. However, he was pleased. She was flying straight and hard, and this was where he shone. He extended his neck, flapped his wings, and kept up with her easily. Sure, a Wood was usually no match for him if he flew smart, but a Rising dragoness was a whole different matter altogether. He answered her roar with one of his own, suring forward and around her with a flap of his wings. He spiralled around her, ending up below before flying up on her left, level with her again. He would please her, let her choose her victor.

[Shoki]

Quiorith felt a little bit of an electric thrill when the Wood dragoness came close for encouragement. He could hardly wait to do a little roll in the air, a way to get his energy out. He fell behind a little, but he could make that up, couldn’t he? As he went to catch up with the Wood and two toned King, he didn’t quite notice the mischievous zephyr coming his way. A Cloud caught unawares, as some knew, was easy to toss about, with their large sail-like wings and light weight. This particular wind was just enough to get the lagging Cloud to become off balanced, which meant he unwillingly dipped to the side. Quiorith immediately accepted this, turning it into a spin, using his dip down to swing back up. It made him lag all the more.

A little bit of a feeling dripped into the mind of the dragon, coming from somewhere that was hard to pinpoint. It was hard to describe, not friendly, but familiar, coming close to what one felt when bracing for something. There was a thread of something else though, a sort of wild feeling. Then it hit him. It was like what R’le felt when Quiorith was about to go into a dive, or when he was about to start a race. Reflexively his wings extended, rising subtly as he did so. The next moment they clamped down, and he darted forward trying to make up for all the ground he had lost. No one was going to out race Quiorith!

[Terayne]

Orylth bugled as she saw the Cloud get caught by the wind, a little fearful. She knew all too well what a crazy wind could do after all. Her wing still showed signs of that, and she did not wish either of her suitors hurt in this. As he caught himself though, she relaxed and continued forwards with all of her speed, enjoying the cool wind racing across her heated hide.

She abruptly stopped, just hovering and letting the King fly past her, waiting and watching to see how long it took him to stop and figure out what happened. She angled her head so she could see Quioroth as well, rumbling as she looked between the two, debating. Which one....

[summerrain]

Aldith had his eyes on the Wood when she stopped suddenly. He backpedalled, got caught in a sudden headwind, and was forced to drop to avoid colliding with the dragoness. He knew forced victories did not go well with the dragonesses. He circled below, rising again to her level before stopping, shifting up and down with his wingbeats in order to keep himself stationary in the air. He watched her, knowing now that this was the deciding moment. He would wait.

But the wind would not wait for her. A sudden, strong gust caught him by surprise and sent him off toward the trees. His weight affected his momentum, making it harder to recover than it was for the cloud. His wings billowed out, catchcing an updraft off the heardbeast field, and he was able to glide back to the Wood Dragoness. Who would she choose? For it was her choise.

[Shoki]

Quiorith sped forward, until he realized the Wood had stopped. Rather than immediately try and stop, he did a tight loop backward, and used it to slow down before back peddling. The Cloud kept himself in about the same place, but not quite. Out of all the things she could have done, this was the one he disliked the most. He wanted to move! Flightlust wanted him forward, his natural racing inclination of fairness pulled him back. Forward, back, left, right, up, down, he moved very subtly in these directions to give him some where to move. What was there to do now? Wait apparently. Each moment was far too long as the Cloud floated in place, desperately wanting to move, somewhere. The only thing that could keep him in about the same place was the anticipation. A few more moments, and it would be over. One way or the other.