Ice in the Wind - Temperanth's Flight [73.11.25]

[Shoki]

Mornings at Ice Stone Weyr were always slow. When it got cold, people rarely wanted to do anything after they woke up, especially if they didn't have a cup of hot Halk in them. Hedara found that even the transfer riders, used to the milder K'lah found it a comfort after a adjustment period. However, the Icerider preferred to be out in the early morning, to get some practice in with her sword. If she didn't practice then, she would never get it done. Still, as the went back to her weyr she frowned, disappointed with her performance. She had been very distracted, focused on other issues and it had made her strokes sloppy. One of the issues being Temperanth. The queen dragoness had a brighter hide then usual, a sure sign that a flight wasn't very far off. That in and of itself was not what had Hedara annoyed. The main issue was that she had no idea what was in Temperanth's head. Without a doubt she had been looking at some of the males but when asked anything about what she might find good in a mate she gave the same uncommitted response. 'Who knows?' Hedara had gotten really sick of that phrase. It made her thoughts turn to Temperanth easily, with no small amount of frustration. Hedara hoped that things would turn out better after breakfast.

Somehow the distracted mood followed her all day, from her briefing on Sanshe to veiled complaints about Silverlights. Hedara attempted not to be short with them, but they got the impression anyway. So it was about afternoon by the time she sat in her chair by her desk, and glared at the wall. She didn't have time for this. There was way too much to do, and not nearly enough time for it. It didn't help that Temperanth had been so cagey for the last day or so. Usually the Ice was like a overprotective mother, and gave advice as frequently. Now she had been keeping to herself, almost sulking. Ivy had taken off sometime last night, though at least Hedara understood that. When either Temperanth or Hedara were in a mood that went on long enough the Green flit went off to make or steal a present, and would come back once she found something proper. It was annoying at times but Ivy was rather sweet about it so it usually worked. Still, she didn't think it would clear this day up.

Temperanth was asleep. When she was annoyed, she napped. It didn't happen that often, but she found it usually worked when she needed it. It had not helped this morning though. Still, she had tried again, and was resting comfortably. A breeze started up, slowly at first to coax her away from her dreams. It was cold already, but the wind didn't help. Eventually it was enough that the Ice opened her eyes and sat up, not quite awake. She sat there for a moment, not feeling the previous annoyance. Actually, she felt completely neutral. But like the beach before a giant wave, it was merely the prelude to a crash. All at once emotions rushed into her to the point of bursting and it was impossible to keep them contained. So impossible to contain that Temperanth had to release a loud roar, becoming caught up in them completely. On instinct she sought out the heard beasts, ready to take their flesh for her own desires.

Hedara grit her teeth as emotions threatened to drown her. She didn't have time to think much, only gather her will and get ready. The only thought she was able to muster properly was that she wished she had some sort of idea of what the Ice was planning.

Temperanth landed on one of the beasts, ready to tear out some of its flesh, until a thought attacked her.

Blood it.

The Ice snarled, unwilling to comply. She wanted all of it, blood and flesh and-

Only blood.

Never! She would-

Tasty, sweet blood.

The Ice roared again, but Hedara's will had time on her side. Even if the will wasn't nearly as strong as it usually was, it was enough that Temperanth's impatience decided the battle of wills. She brought down her teeth and began blooding the creature, trying to drain it completely if she couldn't have its flesh. She continued as the bold wind picked up a little more, an icy wind for the Ice's flight.

[Void]

You missed a spot.

Sk'ar sighed. You try oiling a 30 foot beast who wont sit still and we'll talk about spots. He prodded back and attacked the offending area with vigor causing a deep rumbling come from the RR Flame. "You big cat." He moved to Verith's shoulder checking out his handy work. "We could use you for interior lighting, you'd make a nice deco-" He was cut of mid sentence by an earth shaking roar, or more the case Ice shaking. Verith responded immediately snapping his wings out and positioning himself into a crouching position for a better takeoff and bugleing making sure the Ice Queen knew of his Fiery presence.

"Hey! Watch it!" Sk'ar exclaimed the wing zipping over his head. "You'd be no good for flying if you lob my head of with your wing."

I am not the clumsy one Mine. Verith replied with a mental smirk.

Sk'ar walked off taking the oiling equipment with him. No use getting caught in a blizzard when the Flame did decide to take off.

[Terayne]

Shimmering hide glittered faintly as its owner raised her head, eyes whirling fast as she eyed the younger Queen nervously. She was holding almost perfectly still, not wanting to draw the moody Ice's attention, and her rider stood at her side, his white hair gleaming softly, pale blue eyes intent on Temperanth. Easy, my love. She's distracted, for the moment. Stay still, and we'll retreat to our Weyr once she's taken to the air. Xerecalth rumbled softly, then fell silent again, her eyes taking on a red, agitated tone, and he gently stroked her soft hide, trying to keep her calm. No good her taking to the sky out of fear. She wasn't anywhere near ready for her own next flight, after all.

The presence of the Flame had him cocking his head, since he didn't recall ever seeing him before, odd with his vivid hue. A newcomer, transferred in for Temperanth's upcoming Flight? he wondered, and felt a faint nudge on his shoulder, as well as a confirming feeling in his mind.

[Kyralih]

They appeared above the icy Weyr to the sound of dragoncries, bugles that might be deafening in the round Weyrbowl to those at specific points within, but at their height the calls were light and on the freezing wind. As Lasereth changed mercurially from his usually wide and lazy descent into a tight and quick dive, eager to hit the ground and be rid of his harnesses before the Ice Queen below took to the skies. His rider held on tight, smirking as the young candidate riding behind him gripped his waist almost desperately. “Hold on,” he cautioned sarcastically, not quite knowing whether either of the girls could hear him through the rough wind. As they broke through the barrier of the Weyrbowl, Lasereth let out a cry all his own, his powerful bellow joining in with the cries of other males that would be flying the Queen that day; he landed on the lip of an empty-looking weyr the looked near enough to what could be the Jr. Weyrwoman’s weyr and tensed, his eyes staring intently at the Ice blooding a beast below.

“Looks like we got here just in time,” the blonde girl commented brightly, her tone holding a smile with no sign of the tension he had felt around his waist only moments before.

His hands working deftly at the straps that held his legs in place, Sei’a ignored her statement of the obvious. “Can you get yourselves out of the holds?” he asked instead in a business-like tone, swinging his legs over the side of the saddle and sliding down Lasereth’s bent leg.

“What do you take us for, simpletons?” the brunette scoffed, dropping lightly on her feet beside him, the fall apparently nothing to her. Green eyes flashed at him in from beneath messy bangs momentarily, before she turned to the blonde still perched on Lasereth’s back. “Need any help, Daeka?”

“I’m fine,” the blonde replied sweetly, one leg coming over the saddle to the side they stood on. Sei’a started working at the buckles that held the supports in place, but paused when the girl didn’t appear beside him as her friend had. Glancing up, he saw her looking down hesitantly and instantly offered his hands up to help her down. She slid partway; he caught her at the waist and placed her down beside them before returning to the straps. “Thank you,” she offered; he shrugged and continued about the task, Lasereth’s subconscious will to hurry working through him.

When he finished, he strode quickly to the straps on the opposite side of the bronze’s neck only to find the brunette had almost finished. With the two of them working together the straps were off and, with a few swift tugs, Lasereth was free. He bellowed again, the baritone call echoing around the borrowed weyr as well as the Weyrbowl outside. He and the girls backed well away from the dragon’s twitching tail, and the transferrider glanced down to feeding grounds in the Weyrbowl, wondering where the riders of the dragons participating in this Flight would be gathering. He would have liked to meet the Jr. Weyrwoman Hedara before Lasereth flew for Temperanth. If he had known the Ice would fly this morning, he would have chosen to head out early yesterday morning.

“Do you think we should present ourselves to the headwoman in the Caverns?” the blonde asked, seemingly of her friend, “I wouldn’t mind something warm to drink, either; this is a good deal colder here than at Sky Mountain!”

“Eh, only a couple of degrees cooler,” the brunette shrugged, “But I bet you could find something warm; it’s, what, nine hours later here than back at Sky Mountain? So they might still be serving breakfast.”

Sei’a moved to let the girls through to use the steep and icy stair from the weyr to the bowl below; to their accreditation, neither of the pair flinched at the distance to the ground below or the whipping icy wind, simply bracing themselves before they struck out and down. He chose the opposite direction, moving around behind Lasereth to climb up the steep stairs, up towards what he had hoped would be knew to be Jr. Weyrwoman’s weyr. ~Good luck~ he wished Lasereth, and in response a wave of confidence washed through their connection. Sei’a smiled, climbing higher.

He reached the lip of a larger weyr, obviously belonging to a Queen, and paused. A young woman stood centered on the rim, staring down on the Ice dragon below, her eyes intent. She was tall and lean, with long light blonde hair held back by a strap of leather, tendrils of her wavy locks teased by the strong, icy breeze. He decided not to deliberately distract her, but moved closer, wondering where the other King riders were.

((if any of that seemed off, just say which parts and I'll try to fix it. ^^'))

[darkwanderer]

The roar shook the entire Weyr and Se'Kt did not need to feel the wave of excitement through his bond to know that Queen Temperanth was soon to rise. His Ice King, Epsilith had been bathing in the frigid waters of one of Ice Stone's lakes when the air was suddenly filled with Dragon cries. Se'Kt threw on his Dragon's fighting straps and vaulted up onto his neck ridge,
The other Kings are gathering Epsilith said, an urgency in his tone,
Don't worry, we'll get there in time Se'Kt replied indulgently. They soared in low and Epsilith alighted only long enough to be relieved of his fighting straps before he sprang into the sky. Se'Kt watched him join the other Kings surrounding the Ice Queen as she continued to blood her kills. Striding into the Weyr Se'Kt found that the Queen's Rider was not alone. Another rider was standing close beside her, but she didn't even seem to notice. Se'Kt moved into the room, but kept his distance. The tension began to rise in the room and Se'Kt felt himself beginning to be swept up in his Dragon's emotions.

[Zane]

What a time to arrive, though the crimson wasn’t in the least bit disappointed. He hadn’t expected the flight to be so soon, and yet, he was all for unexpected occurrence’s. X’kel, much like his dragon, didn’t seem in the least bit phased. ”So this is what we’re coming home to, huh?” he spoke aloud, shouting out against the icy wind that was buffeting both he and his dragon. ”Shards, should’ve signed up sooner!” he teased, gaining nothing more than a mental snort from his dragon, which was quick to turn into a bout of amused rumbles.

So I imagine you’ll be quick to head off to the ladies weyr, then? the crimson inquired, his voice level. The crimson always managed to sound emotionless, which X’kel was entirely used to. He gauged his dragons feelings based on the way he worded things. X’kel got all the detail he needed from his dragons vague responses. They had been together for what felt like forever, after all.

The full-blown smirk that took over the young man’s features only added to the crimson’s enthusiasm over the flight. Seeing X’kel looking this excited was enough for the crimson to follow him to the ends of Pern and back. His rider’s well-being was his greatest weakness. He was incapable of disobeying when he knew that his rider’s happiness was at stake. Swerving to the side in a sudden move, X’kel held on tight to the riding straps. ”Practicing already, are we?” X’kel commented. ”Hey, it’s not me you have to impress,” he laughed, winking at the multi-faceted eye that turned upon him. The crimson said nothing, as was customary. His rider tended to talk aloud to him a fair bit, mostly because he didn’t care who heard. If anything, Varketh was under the suspicion that X’kel liked the sound of his own voice.

Not quite touching the ground, X’kel leapt off of his dragons neck, falling the few feet it took him to touch ground. ”Knock ‘em dead!” he encouraged, staring up at the large crimson while he took off hurriedly to the herdbeast pens. X’kel made haste, wondering how much time he had to get the weyrwoman’s weyr. She was a weyrwoman, wasn’t she? He hadn’t made much effort to learn about the other queen colors, far too fixated on the golds as he was. Varketh fancied them well enough, and hadn’t been interested in looking to any of the other queens up until now. A new experience for us both, flying an Ice, he thought to himself while he ran, always considering flights as a joint effort between him and his dragon. In all actuality, it was.

Varketh finally made it to the herdbeast pens, quicker than X’kel had made it up to the higher weyr’s, obviously. He spotted the Ice queen for the first time, admiring her from afar. He knew better than to approach while she was viciously blooding her kills. Deciding it high-time he did the same, he rose on a gust of wind, grunting at the sheer force of the icy air. It wasn’t long before he spotted a herdbeast below; it was no surprise that it looked frantic. Well, he’d put it out of its misery… Diving down at a breakneck pace, the crimson landed square on the creature’s back, killing it instantly with a crunch to the neck. He shook the creature back and forth. X’kel could practically feel the brute force his dragon was exerting on his kill, and he wondered at whether or not such a display of strength was necessary, since the queen was otherwise occupied. Nevertheless, Varketh aimed to impress, blooding the single herdbeast quickly before felling another. Two… three… He blooded exactly three herdbeast’s before he could feel the warm blood flowing through him, providing him the needed strength to last the flight. He had no doubt that he’d be one of the ones remaining until the very end. Whether or not he’d be chosen was a different story, but both rider and dragon had enough faith in themselves to deem it very likely! (Or they just had ego’s as never ending as the sky.)

Carefully entering the weyrwoman’s weyr, having guessed at which one it was based on another young man creeping on in, X’kel stood there by the entranceway while examining his surroundings. His gaze fell first on his competition, briefly sizing up the men in the room. Then, lastly, he looked upon the young icerider. She looked to be no older than his twenty one Turns, and she was pretty to boot. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of woman she was, the young wingleader wasn’t as loose and uncaring as everyone made him out to be, or rather, as he made himself out to be. ”Fine day,” he muttered, his plan being to let everyone know he was there.

You’ve got this Varketh, just focus, he demanded of his crimson. They had to win. X’kel could feel the beginnings of flightlust gnawing at the corners of his person, threatening to drag him away to a faraway place. He had a good enough handle on himself, and enough experience with flights, to know that discretion was vital.

[Shoki]

Temperanth was blooding another poor creature, making it her third. She was largely paying attention to getting the blood drained from the beast but the response roars from her suitors were making her more and more anxious. She needed to be in the sky soon. Her head rose, taking a look back at some of the kings, looking around catching sight of a hide of black and silver-

Fly.

The Ice Queen didn't need any more encouragement. She let off one last roar, a challenge this time, to all those who wanted to try and catch her. If you wanted to try, you better give it everything you had, because she didn't want anything less. The blue speckled wings carried her aloft, kicking things off properly. Some snow in the takeoff gave the appearance of her being gone in a puff of smoke, but it would make little difference. She was away, straight up into the sky and she wasn't looking back, not yet.

Hedara let a brief sigh of relief escape her lips. She had seen what Temperanth almost noticed and she was glad that it hadn't gotten farther then that. Her focus was rapidly slipping away but she had time to turn around to take a look at who had shown up. Well, the transfer riders on the docket had arrived. More annoyingly they were in her room. There was nothing to be done about that, after all, they were supposed to show today. Of course they weren't the only ones, she recognized one of the other Iceriders from the Weyr. She reviewed them all quickly, entirely unsure what was going to happen. Regardless, she was gonna have someone new to work with. The Crimsonrider had spoken, but the Jr. Weyrwoman didn't speak. She just cocked one of her eyebrows and continued to think. Well, the only thing to be done was to see what Temperanth would do. Hedara crossed her arms, giving them all one long stare before being completely swept away in what Temperanth was doing.

Temperanth and Hedara, bound together by their thoughts, were flying above the Weyr. Despite the dragons no doubt on their tail, it was just them. For a brief moment it was only the Ice dragoness in the air, and she wasn't about to come back down, no matter what any other dragon had to say about it. So Temperanth continued her ascent, up toward the sky.

[Void]

Verith had crouched like a statue waiting, just waiting for the Queen to finish blooding her kills and rise. Even his half streatched wings hardly moved, his eyes riveted on the Ice Queen. He responded to her challenging roar by lifting his wings slightly knowing she would soon rise to the sky. Little clumps of snow that had gathered on his wings sprinkled to the ground lightly dusting the covered floor beneath his body. When Temperanth finally rose she seemed to teleport from the ground into the sky she was lost in the blizzard she created in her down sweep. He flew after her launching into the sky in one huge wing beat. He took another beat and tucked his wings in tight against his body turning into a tight spin shooting into the sky knowing she probably very well didn't see him but it did not mater it was just as much a show to the other King's flying today and his own enjoyment as it was for the Queen, though, mostly for her even if she couldn't see him right then.

Sk'ar had gone to an area in the room that was not to close to anyone and leaned against the wall propping his foot on it and crossing his arms. He didn't like crowding people, or unnecessary crowding. There was no way he was going to drape himself on Hedara like the new transfer Bronze rider seemed to be trying to do. He turned and looked at another rider, a Crimson rider and lightly wondered how this Benden transfer thought of situations up here and made a mental note to ask him later. Then he gave into the intensity of Verith's competitiveness and strive for the Queen. He settled himself into the wall a little deeper and spun into the clouds chasing snow and ice.

[darkwanderer]

The male Ice Epsilith was a wing beat behind the Flame in rising into the sky. The Ice Queen was so lithe and agile and her sparkling flecked hide shone with it's own light. He surged after her with all his strength. He was not even aware of the other Kings in pursuit. His furiously whirling eyes were fixated on the Queen.

Se'Kt could feel the influence of his Dragon's emotions beginning to creep into his mind. In an effort to keep his senses for as long as possible, he surveyed the room and the other riders. With a flash of embarrassment he realised they were all younger than his 29 turns. The Dragons wheeled above and a wave of aggression hit Se'Kt. He moved tensely away from the wall. It felt as though he was soaring with Epsilith. His heart bagan to pound almost painfully in his chest and he stifled a gasp for breath. He had no idea if his lifemate were gaining on the Queen at all; all he knew was the roar of his blood in his veins.

[Kyralih]

((X.x internet modem fried during storm on Tuesday and, due to disorganized companies, I don't have a replacement yet. >> so.... here's a phone response so Lasereth doesn't get left behind. Sorry for tiny length u.u))

As the radiant Ice Queen bellowed her challenge, bronze Lasereth answered with gusto, his muscles bunching as she shot skyward in a flurry of snow. He launched up after her, wings pumping to bring him higher and higher into the frozen sky, his size giving him an advantage over the other two while his unfamiliarity with the area worked only marginally against him. While the bronze might not know where he was or where he was going, all that he need focus on was the slightly glowing irrestible Queen Temperanth before him, and his eyes were only for her.

[Terayne]

As soon as she was off the ground and gone, S'lieze leapt to his Silverlight's shoulders, and the aging Queen swiftly retreated to her ledge, settling gently, but not wasting any time in moving inside of it. Once there, she turned and watched the Ice and her suitors, always interested in other Flights for the sheer amount of tricks she could learn from her fellow Queens, and their males.

Her rider was silent as he also eyed the Ice. That had been too close, he thought. He'd seen Temperanths eyes sweep over his Lifebond, and he'd been fearful that for a moment she might just go after the much older Queen out of jealousy. Her ascent had been a profound relief to him. He idly wondered who Temperanth would choose as her mate, and make the mate of her rider and Junior Weyrleader of Ice Stone...

(( And I shall stop posting and being in the way. But I WILL be following the Flight. Since I dun have my own Ice Stone King to try and Fly. ))

[Zane]

Just as X’kel had been sizing up his competition in the room with the none-too-pleasant weyrwoman, Varketh was now looking over the dragons that had gathered. The only dragon his gaze lingered on for longer than a second was the bronze. The dragon’s size was clearly formidable, though Varketh was no small dragon himself.

I don’t consider any of them to be real competition, he informed His confidently, readying himself for the ice queen was finally done blooding her kills. Her challenge was duly noted by the crimson, and the great beast could feel the whip of the wind as he gracefully launched himself into the air after her. He didn’t hesitate, wanting to be one of the first to pursue the beautiful creature now before him. He wouldn’t waste his time with words, or meaningless confessions of love, no, he’d let his actions do all of the talking here. His eyes began to swirl a deep purple, mixed with violent reds. His lust would not come close to taking away the anger he had that any of the others thought themselves worthy of Temperanth.

X’kel didn’t think it at all intelligent for any of the men in the room to try and approach the icerider, especially when Temperanth hadn’t made a choice. The young man could feel his dragon’s lust becoming his own, though the desire for his dragon to chase had already been there prior to their becoming conjoined as one. ”Back off,” he snapped at the other men, not afraid to remind them that she wasn’t theirs until Temperanth made her choice in the skies. Idiots. The lot of them. Clearly his thoughts were being influenced by his blood red dragon. Then, the emotions no longer came slowly, but in a rush. X’kel was no longer X’kel, but X’kel-Varketh, and he would dominate. An unexpected roar came from the now enraged crimson as he kept speed with Temperanth, not letting her out of his sight. He would follow her, no matter what course she took!

X’kel, as he was standing in the room, hadn’t moved from his chosen spot the moment he’d entered. He was now staring at the weyrwoman, not with the deep consideration he would’ve before, but rather with a deep desire that Varketh was fuelling. He wanted her, not as a man desperately craved the affections of a woman, but rather he wanted her as proof that he and Varketh belonged here. They belonged here, and they would make a name for themselves here. Everyone would respect them and they would far from disappoint. Goodness, the ego on the pair could most certainly only ever stay the same, or increase. Rarely, if ever, did it falter. It was simply the way of the crimsonrider and his life partner.

X’kel-Varketh didn’t exactly have a plan, fully intending to go with the flow of the flight for now. If they needed a plan, they could just as easily devise one…

[Shoki]

Temperanth continued upward, higher and higher. It looked like for a moment she would just keep heading straight up into the sky. Then she changed her mind. With a quick change to her flight pattern she began to spiral upwards, in a round about way. She turned sharply, still heading up, then after a few loops turned the other way and repeated the process. As she did so she gave a glance back at the Kings chasing her. She looked at them each in turn, not looking at any one more then the others. The Flame, the Bronze, the Ice and the Crimson. All fine in appearance, which meant it wasn't a factor for her. She continued ever upward, trying to gauge the male dragons.

Hedara took a moment to be herself. It was easier, considering Temperanth was being contemplative and she herself was getting mad. Shards, she had been thinking all along that the Ice was being coy with what she wanted in a mate. Now that they were so close in mind it was easy to see the dragoness had no idea at all! By the first egg, if she had known that was what was going on she would have pressed her on something before hand. Not that she would try to change the Ice's mind but...gah! She couldn't hardly think straight long enough to be properly angry. All too soon she felt herself being bound together again and the fire of Hedara's anger fueled Temperanth to beat her wings harder, and gain speed.

Temperanth's wings were starting to protest. The steeper grade of climb was getting to her. Still, they could be ignored for a while. As a sign of defiance against herself she rose even steeper, spinning as she went. She did so love spins. The pair of minds knew something to be sure. Whoever was picked, the selection would be sudden and a surprise. The Ice Queen just didn't know who it would be.

[darkwanderer]

As Epsilith the Ice King soared after the Queen he became aware of the other Kings around him. The Crimson was ahead of him by a Dragonlength, so Epsilith decided to bank hard to the left and attempt to get ahead of him. Just as he was about to change course, the Queen suddenly did and Epsilith had to back wing to avoid clashing with the Crimson. He pumped his wings to gain height, but he was beginning to feel the strain of the chase.

Shells! Epsilith, my chest is hurting! Se'Kt was feeling the burning of every breath his Dragon took. He felt the pain of over worked muscles. And he felt the fire of determination that would not allow His Ice to give up to soon. The Crimson Rider had tensed up across the room and who could blame him? If he was experiencing his Dragons emotions as keenly as Se'Kt himself was. The others, The Flame and Bronze Riders, seemed to have become very still and intent of the young Weyrwoman too. Se'Kt and Epsilith drew a pained breath as one. Surely the Queen could not keep this pace forever?

[Zane]

With how carefully the crimson was watching the Ice Queen’s moves, it was no surprise that he was on to her. It was him, her, and the chilling wind. The messy flying of the other Ice, in Varketh-X’kel’s opinion, was a cause for anger. At first the other King attempted to get past them, since they were in the lead, but then, when the Ice Queen made an unexpected turn, Epsilith nearly collided with the crimson. Bellowing out in outrage, and warning to the Ice King to stay out of his way, Varketh-X’kel manoeuvred under the Ice Queen as she soared overhead, just missing Epsilith by a wingtip. Temperanth’s moves, in the eyes of the crimson, were graceful. She was using up a fair lot of energy to perform them, however, and yet the crimson pair were glad for this. (It meant that someone would have to catch her sooner rather than later.) The ice hailing down from the sky was battering them, but thus far they’d managed to ignore it, for the most part. They were so dead-focused on their prize, on Temperanth, that the weather hardly mattered to them! Varketh-X’kel had to win.

The crimson wheeled right back around, though it took time, to continue to pursue the Ice Queen in her challenging, steep, climb. She was definitely taking a risk with that move, but the crimson was one-hundred percent up for the challenge. She wasn’t about to get away on him, no, not now! He remained quiet, not daring to speak, though X’kel’s voice broke into Varketh’s mind, beckoning him onward: We can do this! Keep going Varketh, keep going! The crimson beat his wings harder, and thus moved faster, like an arrow shooting through the sky, though his sheer size gave him less speed than the smaller King’s. He was still gaining on her. In an attempt to show her that it could be over, and he could be hers, he went beneath her, turning upside down as he did. He made a rumbling sound, declaring himself more than worthy of her. She was going so fast, surely she would give soon…

X’kel, in the room where he stood, was once again no closer to the Weyrwoman than he had been before, nor any of the other suitors. He was just staring skyward, seeing all that his dragon saw, and feeling all that his dragon felt. He gritted his teeth against the cold wind, for their speed made it all the more apparent. It caused him to shiver for a moment, but his crimson dragon’s determination gave him the strength to persevere.