Flights

"Still missing Ithtyruith, Ale-love?" Silviera slipped to her dragon's side, joining her on the ledge of their weyr. Wide gold wings quavered, startled, and Alequveyth turned almost tooquickly towards her rider, trying for a look of innocence that she didn't quite manage. Silviera chuckled; it was obvious that the gold had been examining her suitors nearly as closely as they watched her.
Of course not - I never missed him, Alequveyth insisted, only succeeding in further amusing her rider.
"So are your choices an improvement?"
The gold cocked her head consideratively, regarding her fleet of
males through half-closed eyes. Auroneth's colors outshine the others, and he's of TSCZ breeding - he'd surely father rares. But I'm not sure he or his rider remembered we exist past the time it took them to add their names. She tossed her head, eyes orangy-red with annoyance. Bihanth's little better; gold he may be, but he's far too slow to catch me. The browns are better, but Hursth's rider holds him back.
Silviera rolled her eyes. "If you're as picky in flight, you'll never find a mate. Does that leave anyone?"
Raiokh - but Alequveyth stopped tauntingly short, her laughter tangible in Silviera's mind. The ex-angel frowned suspiciously up at her bond; if Ale' had found something to criticize in this Raiokh, she rather thought the proddy gold would have mentioned it. What could she find so amusing?
But as she framed the question, Alequveyth leapt suddenly, startlingly from the ledge, a flash of gold that fell instantly from sight. Silviera stepped quickly forward to stand at the edge of the jutting stone, and her heart caught momentarily - she didn't fear for Ale', of course, but she'd been inadvertently reminded of the time when she too had had wings...
The gold plunged down, wings close against her body, snapping them open into the wind at the last moment, and nearly skimming the ground. She rose in a slow glide so graceful she seemed to float, and curved over the feeding grounds, barely breaking her steady rhythm of wingbeats
to snatch a herdbeast from the flock. Blood, Silviera whispered, feeling her dragon's rising heat as surely as if she flew with her bond. Alequveyth didn't need the caution; she turned her head, mouth scarlet-tinged, back towards her rider's lair, lips quirking in a half-smile.
I know, the gold hissed, into her mind. I'm not so stupid as to give them an easy chase.
You'd better warn the riders, Silviera - if my chasers aren't in the
air soon, they've already lost. And she was gone.
Lucky that the males had finally realized that the flight they'd waited for was taking place -Silviera was in no position to tell them. As Alequveyth rose, she'd discovered that she too could fly... once again, she had wings...
She soared up, powerful wings carrying her to a height from which she could glide on the high, fast-moving winds, expending little of her energy but carrying her quickly away from her pursuers. From this safe distance, she peered down: below her, neverending forests, Darkling Dawn a child's toy, and the tiny, distant colored wings rising in pursuit...
A quick, eager brown had taken the air first: Herionth, she guessed, and the second would be Hursth; it would be near impossible for him to win, held back as he was by his rider, who didn't really want him to win... She discarded him as unsuitable, and turned her attention to her
other chasers.
Auroneth and Raiokh had taken off nearly simultaneously, Auroneth slightly ahead; he quickly put a greater distance between them, shooting upwards in a phenomenal burst of speed that brought him level with brown Hursth, who lashed out, startled, and determined that the red-black would not take his place in the running. Auroneth willingly retaliated, attempting to foul the brown's wings with flailing limbs and tail. He succeeded, to a point, but Hursth, entangled, pulled his antagonist down with him. If he could not have Alequveyth, neither would Auroneth.
Amused that two of her chasers had already dropped from the running, Silviera-Alequveyth searched out her remaining pursuers. Herionth below, unable to attain her altitude but trying hard; Raiokh trailing at a distance - but rising deceptively quickly. Hadn't she had another
pursuer?
Suddenly, wide gold wings folded around her, attempting to trap her; Bihanth twined his body around her. Screaming anger, she slammed her hind legs into the larger gold's chest, winding him and knocking him away. Before he could recover, she was already far below, plummeting until the wind snapped her wings out just over the forest. Bihanth was left too far distanced to hope to catch up; he spiralled disconsolately down to his rider.
Her change of position had proved lucky for Herionth; though the brown was tiring, with his quarry so close, he put on a final burst of speed that carried him to Alequveyth. Absorbed in her victory over Bihanth, she didn't see him until it was too late... but she didn't fight him, either. He had none of Bihanth's roughness; he was young and determined and quite enamoured of her. Maybe he'd do...
None but the best will do, a smooth voice contradicted - Raiokh. And I can
give you a far better clutch than he can. Herionth reluctantly surrendered, dropping away - he could tell that Raiokh really wasn't someone he wanted to fight with. But he hadn't really lost, after all - some of Alequveyth's children would be his.
Silviera, returning at last to earth, realized for the first time exactly what Alequveyth had found so amusing. She had no objection to wings, of course, but Raiokh's rider looked so dragon-like that it was difficult not to stare...
The bronzerider arched a brow at Silviera's expression, a slight smile flickering across her face. "I'll find my own amusement," she suggested, smirking, and departed, tail whipping after her. Silviera could only nod... but she had enough sense to place a restraining hand on Al'nik's arm when he too looked to be entertaining doubts about whether he was wanted.
"Don't go..."