The hope of Pern rises (Lyeth flies!)

[ShadowReine]

Dragons tend to choose inconvenient times to do things. But right now, it was an entirely convenient time. An hour past noonmeal and Yselka sat in her office, sorting through paperwork. A few candidate transfers, a couple of bronzeriders...

Some of the weyrlings would...if there were weyrlings, and suddenly, she found that worry dominating her mind.

Lyeth was awake. The gold was thinking about her eggs, her clutch, about the hope of Pern, and then...she was launching from her low ledge.

Hunger suddenly flowed over Yselka. She ran out onto the weyrledge, watching the golden bulk of her dragon rise a little, angle towards the feeding grounds.

She saw bronze shapes already descending, the queen's summons faster than her flight.

I hunger!

BLOOD! Never had she had to enforce her will on Lyeth, but this was a hunger stronger than any since the queen's hatching. It was not lust, not yet, or at least, there was no separation between the two. Desire, right now, was for fresh meat, dragon talons tearing into a herdbeast taken almost at random.

Hunger!

Blood. She insisted on it, again, and after a moment the great head lowered, the jaws closed around the beast's throat. Drained it, then cast it aside. A second...and this time, there was no argument, no fight. A third.

Even from this distance, she could see the near-glow, the light of her dragon's hide and then Lyeth was aloft.

Aloft and with only one thought, one instinct in her mind. High and far. Away from her domain. Away from those fools, those bronzes. They thought they could catch her, did they? She, Lyeth, would show them, and her flight was simply for distance now. Striving for a head start they would struggle to catch.

Yselka swayed on her feet. She was no longer just a young woman. She was dragon. She was Yselka-Lyeth, and she would not be caught!

[franny]

Bronze Hellseth and his rider J'corm

Hellseth could tell that the gold would rise soon. He was soon out there, blooding his kills, preparing himself for when the queen would wake. He would have her because he knew that only he was really and truly worthy of her. He believed that he would be the one to fly with her and to be the proud father of a new clutch on Pern. Yes, her golden glow could be his!

J'corm was down in the kitchen grabbing a snack when the queen went up. With a feral smile he ran out of the kitchen and toward the bowl. Yes, the beautiful Yselka could be his. He wanted to win this queen among queens. He snarled at the other competitors, becoming one with his Hellseth and feeling the lust and blood running through his veins.

He, J'corm-Hellseth could win this queen. He would have her if she would have him! He was no shy dragon and he would be close but not to close to cause discomfort.

When she took off he was ready, but she was still slightly ahead. He was determined to be near the front of the pack. He could do distance and speed. It would take a slight amount of time to catch up with the queen, but he was sure he could do it.

[phlysolo]

It had been an unusually quiet day for H'zu. Erusth had woken early, very early, much earlier than he would have on any other day. The beast hadn't even bothered to wake his ride on his slow, gliding decent down to the feeding grounds. Yesterday, he had gorged himself on four big bucks early in the morning and had slept the rest of the day. This morning, he would suck dry two smaller herdbeasts and leave the meat well alone. His instincts, if they were true, would have him do not a scrap of work until...later.

H'zu had sensed his dragon's abrupt change in demeanor over the past couple of days. Usually talkative and informative, Erusth had barely said three sentences to his rider, a mildly disturbing silence. He couldn't have guessed however that Erusth was picking up on subtle hints that golden Lyeth had been giving off for...who knows how long? Either way, H'zu was both concerned and excited. Truth be told, he had never been personally involved in a Flight before, but Erusth was a strong dragon and had bounced back so quickly after he'd recovered from the Plague...

When the bronzerider awoke that morning, he realized that..it wasn't morning, but almost after lunch time. He was confused: The man had never slept in so late in his entire life, let alone in the Weyr he was trying to get used to. In fact, Erusth had normally been the one to prompt him into wakefulness. Why he hadn't that morning was a mystery to him.

As he trudged down to the kitchens, he found himself completely and strangely full. Perhaps he was feeling the fullness and the air of conservation that Erusth had been displaying over the past few days or he'd merely woken up so late that his stomach had yet to catch up with him. The man's mind mulled over and over thoughts of the flight that he believed to be impending. He knew his dragon was not built for endurance, but for speed and agility, despite his size. He might have trouble keeping up as the flight wore longer, but his wing span was so unusually wide for his size that H'zu had no false arrogance when he said that the dragon could out glide any competitor. In fact, his wing span made it so that the dragon would not have to beat his wings, and thus waste as much energy, as any other bronze-or brown-that flew against him. Well, either way, win or lose, triumph or victory, Erusth would Chase.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, he was certain he heard a bugle, barely from outside the Weyr. Erusth at the same moment cried out to him and a vivid picture from his little bronzie-blue flitter Bonooru of a golden dragon decending on the feeding grounds. He also, from the flit's mind, saw his Erusth, too, swooping easily from their shared weyr. H'zu's face pulled into a slight scowl and he stopped sharply in the middle of a hallway, several passerbys glanced curiously at him. He knew he had to get to Yselka's room, but...

From his mind he felt, no saw...Which was it? His mind was trying to cling to his own senses, but most of his senses were desperate to merge with Erusth, who had just lifted up off of the ground behind Lyeth. He had to be fast, both H'zu and the bronze dragon. The man needed to get to find his way to the Weywoman's weyr; the bronze had to gain distance between the queen and himself, his lone competitor completely ignored. It wasn't hard for H'zu to be given a ride up to the Weyrwoman's quarters from a bluerider, but it was difficult for him to get aquainted with her space...

He approached as calmly as he could, also ignoring the fact that another bronzerider was already in the room. But who cared about the opposition?! Now that he was in the safety of Yselka's weyr, his mind was becoming fully merged with his beasts. He saw as Erusth saw, felt as Erusth felt; he was powerful, swift, agile. No matter what bronze chose to give Chase, H'zu-Erusth would out-fly them! No dragon, no man could compete with the bronze might of Erusth. No bronze dragon on Ista could claim his sheer size, his span of wing, his fierceness of flight!

A mighty bugle erupted from the bronze, much louder and confident than the one he had issued upon first meeting the golden beauty. Erusth would prove himself now that he was the only one worthy of flying Lyeth, that he alone possessed the stamina, the speed, the guile of outsmarting and winning the golden glimmer of Pern's hope. Only Erusth would be able to father a mighty Clutch, or be the dragon who could spur her out of any infertility that she possessed! And his rider, the honorable and brave H'zu could be the only man to lead the Weyr Ista in such volitile times! Together, H'zu-Erusth would win!

With four mighty wing beats, Erusth was up aloft and had gained much more altitude than his competitor had. He had no qualms about getting close to Lyeth, for he would always be close to her if he were to be her mate! He was not about to be intimated by this queen! No, he was going to show her that he was her equal, that he was mighty enough to fly beside her, not behind her like some canine! While not directly on her tail, he was close, close, but conserving energy as well, keeping his wings stretched wide so as to keep lots of smooth air over his wings and save himself the trouble of uselessly flapping like an avian!

[dreamer]

Mkukieth appeared in the air above the Weyr with a roar, diving for the ground as the Queen started blooding her third beast. He was a fine looking dragon, old enough to be smooth and precise in his movements. A bit bigger then the average bronze, Mkukieth was a lighter bronze color on his body, shading to a classic bronze on his extremities.

His rider slid nimbly down his dragon’s shoulder and leg, taking the single unfastened strap with him. By the looks of it, the strap had never been fastened, just thrown around the dragon’s neck.

No fool, the bronze rider ran off the feeding grounds, wanting to get himself a safe distance from the aroused and aggressive dragons. They wouldn’t deliberately hurt him, but they might not notice him with their concentration on the glowing Queen.

Mkukieth launched himself after the glowing Queen with a bugle, using every bit of his whiles and turns of experience to get aloft and moving efficiently. He knew to be careful with his energy this early; this was not a Green flight!

His rider staggered and echoed his dragon’s voice with his own yell before regaining control and continuing to run toward the flight rooms. He, like his dragon, was no novice and had control of himself.

The rider was a tall man with threads of gray in his dark brown hair. He was Northern pale and had the long leanly muscular form of most riders. He appeared to be in his early forties and rather obviously he ran regularly.

[ShadowReine]

OOC: It's not too late to join in, guys, just write having been there from the start.

Lyeth strained higher, further. Instinct told her what she needed to do. A long flight, a high flight, a large clutch. Every dragon Pern could get. She did not fear she would be barren, the thought did not, could not, enter into her head. The only thing she could think of right now was getting away from the bronzes.

Even choosing was a long way from her thoughts. Strong beasts, fine beasts, the bronzes of Pern pursued her. The hope of Pern rode on her brilliant, glowing wings.

Yselka stood on her ledge, a small figure, a fragile figure, as their riders climbed towards her. She did not, yet, turn towards her bedchamber.

Kylth was the best of the bronzes, at least if you asked him. Ego mingling with lust, he pursued, his wings already beginning to burn. She was not going to make this an easy flight, no, not at all. The older dragon, though, was canny. Anticipating her moves, he cut across the others, almost knocking a Fort bronze out of the air, the other dragon hissing at him before shifting his course to go around. From the Weyr bowl, they would already be a dot of gold pursued by several slightly darker dots...and a couple much darker, the brave browns that had chosen to chase.

B'toc had been caught in the bathing chambers, he ran towards the queen's Weyr, wearing only his pants. As he sped across the bowl, trying to get to Yselka's side, wanting her as he had not before...a Weyrwoman young enough to be his daughter...something struck him from the side. He fell to the ground, a burning pain in his chest.

And Kylth -screamed-, wings folding as he dropped from the pack, whirled in the air to drop towards the bowl and screamed to every dragon who's rider was not involved in the flight, Mine is HURT!

And the Fortian bluerider smiled as he ducked back into the shadows, making his way towards the queen's weyr. If he killed all of the riders, then his brother would win the flight and the gold and the leadership of Ista.

Except...B'toc was not dead. And had seen his face.

Yselka, oblivious, spread her arms to match her dragon's wings. Only peripherally was she aware that Kylth had dropped out. A wing sprain, perhaps? It was a shame. Kylth was a fine bronze...

[Kisha-Ra]

Il’lin was not having a good day, mostly becase he’d been on Quenith’s back when Lyeth blooded. The young bronzerider had never seen his dragon dive so fast, and it was sheer fortune that they had been above the weyrbowl. Il’lin would never have been able to form the image for Quenith to go between in that state of mind. In fact he only vaguely remembered diving off his dragon before Quenith had been airborne again, after his queen. Now he was up and running, clumsy with the haste and urgency that spilled over from Quenith, for Yselka’s side.

Quenith pumped his wings furiously, slipping toward the head of the pack, lower than Lyeth, true, but clearly making up for his slow start. Couldn’t she see how strong he was? How he proved himself? Quenith arched his neck proudly, just in case Lyeth should happen to look back, but soon gave it up and put his power into ascent after the glorious gold. The bronze was aware that one of his rivals had dropped out but that meant nothing to him except one less opponent.



Kylth’s is hurt![/color] Ysarith relayed the bronze’s words, along with confusion and the beginnings of panic, into her rider’s mind with the force of a flying half brick. D’ya frowned and pulled back from her flirtation with an unoccupied brownrider (gold Flights had always effected her that way) and looked about sharply. What? Where? The bowl, I see them! Hurry![/color]

‘Someone get a healer down to the bowl right now!’ The greenrider roared across the lower caverns. ‘B’toc’s been hurt somehow.’ She was already striding out as fast as her long legs would take her, a cold tendril of fear running down her spine and dispelling any trace of lust from Lyeth and her dragons high above.

It wasn’t hard to spot B’toc, not with the bulk of Kylth to guide D’ya to him. Talk to Kylth dear one, and calmly if you please. The healer won’t want to be confronted with a panicked dragon as well as a patient. D’ya instructed Ysarith, sure words and a clear instruction to calm the green. Kylth? My D’ya will try and help yours. Another healer is coming. Where does he hurt? What happened?[/color] Ysarith asked to pretty redundant questions as B’toc was visibly wounded and Kylth would likely not remember what had happened to his rider while he had been chasing. ‘B’toc, can you hear me?’ D’ya asked the standard consciousness assessment question while wriggling out of her shirt and folding it up into a pad to press against B’toc’s wound. Where was that sharding healer?

[phlysolo]

The only thing that Erusth could discern amidst the flurry of bronze, brown, and most importantly, golden wings, was his goal. Just as he was about to edge closer to his golden beauty, another bronze cut him and another dragon off! A roar of fury escaped him and he viciously shook his head in his wrath. Who was this old, decrepit bronze who thought he was greater than the majestic Erusth?! A challenging bugle sounded through the skies as the great bronze spread his wings wide, catching an updraft that propelled him up, up, up, away from that arrogant, disgusting old beast.

Just as he moved to pass the old bronze and gain again on his glorious, beautiful golden Lyeth, a shriek pierced the air, it was agonizing! Like the dragon himself had been raveged by Threads! But what did Erusth care?! A quick glance behind him assured him that that pathetic old beast was already dropping out. And so he should! He had not the strength, not the endurance, not the speed, or agility as Erusth had. How could he, how could any of these bronzes hope to stand a chance against Erusth's might in the air?

Lyeth was weaving higher and higher and higher into the air, gaining more and more altitude and Erusth was not about to let her gain so much ground on him so quickly. Flattening his limbs closely against his body and straightening out his tail, making his body as smooth and airline as possible. Air around him passed smoothly and easily over his slick hide and, by raising his wings ever so higher, he was able to climb more effectively after his Lyeth. A loving croon loosed from the bronze as he stretched to gain ground.

Back in Yselka's weyr, H'zu was vainly trying to focus on the woman on her dragon's ledge, rather than merge his sight completely with his dragon's. He was able to see, sort of, that a bronze who had just joined the Chase, swooped down back to the ground. What was that about? His mind reeled with the effort of attempting to sort out his own thoughts and his desire to give into dragonlust. His dragon's lust and desire to win Lyeth was threatening to over power him completely once more. However, H'zu's own instincts were just as powerful; he could not, and would not, charge his Weyrwoman in an effort to bring her into the circle of men in her bed chamber. He had more dignity than that after all. And this was her room...As easily as he could, he made his way deeper inside of her room, standing a meter or two away from her bed...

~~~

From his weyr, brownrider S'koin and his beast were enjoying the spectacle far above them in the skies over Ista. Brown Kirith had shown absolutely no interest in rising after Lyeth, though S'koin had prodded his dragon into Chasing, knowing the beast's bulk would definitely make him a good challenger for all those cocky bronzes. The dragon had idly protested with such half-heartedness that S'koin had given up. So instead, the two sat on Kirith's ledge, watching, watching...

Very suddenly, a bronze had joined the flock of challengers in the air. With vicious and arrogant self-assurance, he cut off several of his competitors, nearly knocking one out of the skies!

"Jeez! Someone's anxious!" S'koin exclaimed, sitting up against Kirith's wing. The brown looked down at him, his eyes whirling rapidly.

I think that's Kylth, the Weyrleader's dragon! I didn't realize he was so aggressi-

Kirith's response was cut short as the older bronze's shriek reached their ears. Kirith, forgetting his rider's proximity, raised himself on his haunches and bugled in surprise.

MINE IS HURT! Echoed loudly in both S'koin and Kirith's heads.

At the same time, both of them cried, "B'toc!". With the ease of a skillful pair, S'koin leaped up on his brown, strapless, as the beast made a rapid decent down to the earth, searching for the fallen rider. Already, another dragon, a green and her rider!, were at the fallen bronzerider's side.

"What's happened? How's he hurt?" S'koin asked fervently, though it wasn't hard to trace the pool of blood to B'toc's side. His attention turned from the greenrider to the Weyrleader. Was the man concious?

"B'toc? Can you hear me? Can you speak? Who did this to you?" Unlike the greenrider who was down on the ground next to the fallen man, S'koin was kneeling anxiously next to him, ready to tear off in the direction, any direction, B'toc might have pointed. A murder at Ista? During the Lyeth's pivotal, maiden Flight?

[dreamer]

Mkukieth went for more altitude, leaving the other battling bronzes to fight each other for position. It was the start of the flight, he was not interested in battling for position quite yet. His rider was almost to the beautiful young Queen’s rider, Mkukieth knew his rider found her attractive. That was good, because he was going to win and be the beautiful Queen’s mate!

The experienced bronze let out a confident bugle, letting the Queen know he was there and chasing. ‘Here I am!’ his call proclaimed ‘I can follow you anywhere!’

His hide gleamed with health, his wings pumped strongly as he followed the young Queen. He was one of the best bronzes on Pern and well he knew it. The golden hide of the Queen glowed in front of him, the young one glorying in her blood fueled flight power. He had to catch her!

J’er was working hard on keeping enough attention on his feet and the terrain to avoid falling on his face. He’d had to strip off his vest and unlace his shirt to avoid overheating, the blazing sun and heat was a brutal change after the cool of High Reaches.

When Mkukieth got an idea fixed in his head it was useless to argue. Mkukieth had decided that HE had to fly the young Queen to make sure that J’er’s ‘hatchling’ Jasper had a good hatchling dragon. So here J'er was, potentially destroying his relationship with his Weyrmate and ending up Weyr Leader of a strange Weyr.

So why exactly was he truly hoping his dragon won? Ah, shard it, he’d worry later. Stopping to be sure he knew where he was going, he cheered his dragon on. Pern could do much worse then have his bronze win this flight!

[ShadowReine]

She was the ruler of the air, and she flew far, far above the bronzes...except that now, slowly but surely, they were catching up.

They had to, of course, but Lyeth was bent on delaying that moment as long as she could. She knew what she needed to do. Had she forgotten, Yselka would have reminded her, for that was what riders were for. Memory. Reason, tied to and bound with dragon instinct.

Now, though, dragon instinct and dragon lust overcame all reason. At the same time, the cold assessment was beginning to flow into Lyeth-Yselka's mind. Which male? Which of these bronzes...and there was no way she was letting any brown touch her...would sire the largest clutch? She -dove-, dipping down towards the water. A test. Who was smart enough to predict her actions, who was strong enough to follow her moves? The best. She could take only the best.

On her ledge, Yselka turned, turned to face the riders. B'toc's absence did not even register. Which one? Who was smart enough to lead her wings? Who was strong enough to face all that must be faced? Who was the best Weyrleader for Ista? The best. She could take only the best.

--

"Strange...blue..." B'toc got out before he lost consciousness. The knife had missed the weyrleader's heart, but he might still die if the healers did not do their job, and fast. All he could reveal, all he had the strength for, was the color.

Blue. A bluerider? A man in blue? A Harper? They would have to work it out without him, for he was not re-awakening, not for now.

Greying, his bronze fell to the ground nearby, but there was no keen, and perhaps that, alone, would assure those present. B'toc lived. For now. The dragon did not, for now, move.

OOC: I'm going to end this after one more round so it doesn't last for weeks . There's going to be a follow up thread to deal with the murder attempt.

[franny]

Hellseth would have the queen! She would be his for she was smart and beautiful. J'corm snapped at the riders nearby, the way Hellseth snapped at the nearby dragons, like he was the best. Hellseth flew hard after the queen, slowly catching up to her.

When one of the other bronzes cried out and left the only thing that Hellseth even noticed was that that was one less competitor in the flight. Hellseth knew he was one of the strongest bronzes and that he would make a great leader. He knew that he would last the flight with energy; that he would bring the queen eggs.

Hellseth was not an idiot. when the queen dove down toward the water he also dove, but not all the way down, so as to give him the advantage of being above and not going all the way down. That way, no matter what move she made he would be ready, and he was a touch closer, though he would still have to go down further if she did not go back up. No dragon every knew what these females would do though when the lust was on them.

He was near the front of the pack. Steadily beating his tireless wings to follow after the golden queen that lead the flight of males. The beauty that all wanted.

[phlysolo]

Erusth hadn't even begun to feel fatigue in his body, no he was too strong, too fast, too powerful to be worn out by any gold! She was beautiful, glorious in flight and the great bronze Erusth knew that he must match that with his own grace and ability. He needed to maintain his strength til the very last, even as he climbed steadily behind gorgeous Lyeth. He knew as she knew that she must fly higher and higher, but he would not spend his strength like a baffoon foolishly pumping all his strength into a idiots ascension. Though it was only his second Flight, the bronze knew that she, too, wouldn't be spending all of her time climbing upwards! She had to-and she did!

A wild dive and an even more crazed pursuit followed her. Bronze and brown alike followed after her, but Erusth held back. He did dip lower, but made no attempt to soar completely down after her. If she were to rise up again, like he figured she would, it would be a great waste of energy to both dive, then pull some kind of hairpin climb up after her. If she wanted to Clutch well she was going to have to come up again! Still...

Erusth's eyes burned a wild purple and the bronze tucked his wings sharply to his sides and dove. The dragon was not, however, looking to descend to her altitude, but to descend so that he was on top of her! Any movement she would make from that position would allow mighty Erusth to quickly, and hopefully with minimal effort, to catch up with her. Let those other, idiot bronzes chase her like a canine after a bone! He would not play her game! He would make her play his.

Only forty-six meters above Lyeth, and sixty from the surface of the water, Erusth suddenly opened his wings. They unfurled like sails, catching ground effect and thermals as easily as a sea avian! The force was nearly too great for him and he had to, almost violently, push his tail down to keep him from shooting back up into the sky. But he had succeeded! Lyeth was below him and all he would need to do was climb off after her! Indeed, his wings were flexed at just the right angle to send him bolting back up into the sky.

But he was not the only one! Another bronze had taken up the same position, but what a fool! He could not out beat Erusth in a straight climb! And anyways...With a snarl, he flexed his great wings and attempted to blocked the other bronze's position. He noted, smugly, that since had ducked down lower, he wouldn't even have to really fly to maintain altitude. The other, ignorant bronze wouldn't be able to beat his wings forever. Here down near the water, Erusth could last all day!

Surging forward and completely relying on the swift moving air close to the surface of the lake, Erusth leveled out completely and was flying directly above and parallel to Lyeth's flight path. Either way, he'd be able to upsurge the golden beauty and be in a better place when she rose again...In fact...The bronze rolled sideways, so that he was now angled to the gold. If she were to veer to any direction, all it would take Erusth was a quick roll or gentle climb upwards.

H'zu, too, had his arms out stretched wide, aggressively, as though challenging Yselka herself to deny him the title of Weyrleader. She would be foolish, foolish not to see that he alone had the strength to lead the Weyr to a new beginning! His eyes glinted and it was clear that all the thoughts in his mind had been twisted and warped by the lust and overwhelming confidence of his Erusth.

With Erusth's min overtaking H'zu's finally and completely, the man's only functional thought was with the wingbeats of his dragon! He knew that his bronze could claim Lyeth, but would she be taken by such an arrogant beast? Erusth, if he were indeed to win, needed to use that cunning brain of his and not merely rely on his brawn!

As though registering this, the shimmering bronze let out a bugle, as if to startle Lyeth into seeing his close proximity to herself. Indeed, he was challenging her even more so than he had been when he merely took up Chase for her. He intended to give her as far run for her marks as he could, win or lose.

~~

Strange blue? What, by the First Egg, did that mean? He couldn't have said the direction the blue? had run off towards? Was this man even talking about a human? Could some how a blue firelizard?! No, that was impossible. A flit couldn't be...persuaded to stab a human. That was much more complex than anything that any firelizard could wrap their little minds around, especially a blue one. It couldn't have been a dragon, either, for no beast would ever hurt a human...

So that only left one option: A human had indeed done this. But blue, blue, blue. Blue what?! He was about to ask B'toc, but he'd already fallen into unconsciousness again. Shard it! Who would want to off the Weyrleader?...Only someone who wanted to upset this Flight, of course! It had to be a harper...or a dragonrider! But surely no dragonrider could possibly be capable of killing another...right? So, yes! It had to be some harper, dressed in blue who had attempted to kill the Istan Weyrleader.

"Stay with him! Try to keep his head down and his legs up! It'll help with the bloodflow to his head," S'koin said, remembering something a healer had told him once. "I'm sure a whole flock of healers will be here shortly."

And without further ado, the stocky brownrider rushed off towards the Weyrwoman's quarters, his head turning this way and that for a man in blue.

OoC: Shucks, Franny, you beat me to what I was doing.

[Kisha-Ra]

Quenith eyed the males around him but wasted no time on displays of challenge, to be here, to be flying after Lyeth, was challenge enough. The young bronze was determined but he was no fool to push himself into the chase for all he was worth at the outset, to snap and snarl at the other males, and to lose his strength before the end of the chase. Not him! he wouldn’t be dropping out any time soon, as the poorer of these beasts would soon be.

She dove for the water’s surface suddenly, sparking a flurry of folded wings as bronze and brown alike dropped after her. Quenith nearly followed them but some part of him held back, if she wanted a good clutch she would rise again. Though he couldn’t say where that thought had come from the bronze heeded it. Instead of diving right down after her with the pack, he made a slow descent rather than diving, expecting her to whip round or pull up at any moment as a green might.

Naturally this put Quenith a ways behind the leaders since he wasn’t trading height for speed the way Lyeth and most of the other males were. Hopefully her ascent, when she chose to make it, would get rid of some of those slavish fool dragons who copied her exactly. True there were two others who had not dropped as low as Lyeth, and they were not as far behind as Quenith but equally they were not as good as he was. He would sire Lyeth lots of fine, strong hatchlings, more than any other male possibly could!


D’ya frowned down at B’toc’s unconscious form, not really seeing him. A strange blue? A bluerider? A man in blue? Even a man with a blue firelizard might fit that description and the only reason she was willing to discount someone with a blue wher at this point was because there were no whers of any colour at the Weyr. She frowned deeper and looked at her hands and her bloodstained shirt.

Well, it was clear he had been stabbed, unfortunately that didn’t help much, the only people who didn’t carry some kind of blade were those too poor to afford the handful of marks it took to purchase one.

D’ya made a face at the brownrider’s back as he rushed off, who was he anyway? One of the people here for the Flight she supposed, though his dragon hadn’t been inclined to chase it seemed. D’ya snorted softly dismissing the brownrider from her thoughts for now. There was more at stake than just the weyrleader’s life. Ysarith, get closer to the weyrwoman’s quarters. Look for strangers who aren’t involved in the flight sneaking around. Especially anyone in blue, or with a blue dragon or firelizard. I’ll join you as soon as I hand B’toc to the healers.

How am I supposed to know if they have a blue firelizard? I’m hardly likely to recognise them.[/color] Ysarith grumbled but obediently unfolded herself and wandered, almost idly away to take a resting position in the sun near the weyrwoman’s quarters, ready to report anything strange.

[dreamer]

Mkukieth rumbled in pleasure and passion as we watched things play out beneath him. The young Queen dove for the ground swapping maneuvering room for speed. The younger males had enough experience to know this was not the end, but were holding back. He knew better, speed was needed here; speed to match the Queen’s.

Mkukieth dove too, concentrating on speed and position. He needed the speed to stay with her when she swerved, as he was sure she would. Left or right that he did not know, but it would be fast. It would be wing straining fast and sudden. The other bronzes were bunching up and slowing, they would find it hard to veer when the glowing Queen did.

His rider agreed, imagining the possible courses the Queen could choose. She would make a quick veer at great speed that was their decision. Mkukieth would have her speed matched and enough height to dive down onto her. The worst thing she could do would be to try to go for height again. Should she do that, he would have to try to dive through the other bronzes.

J’er came to a halt just off the Queen’s ledge, looking up to the Weyrwoman. To his eyes, she glowed, the strength of her link shining through her. To look so strong on her first flight! It made his breath catch. His dragon was right, this was where they should be, their strength on display for the Istan Queen to see and judge. He drew himself up, standing tall and proud for her, hardly noticing the other riders.

[ShadowReine]

And then, the instinct within Lyeth screamed for height. Up, up, the queen rising as high as wings could take her. Not slowing down...oh, she was tired, but she had planned this. It was her test, her choice. If anything, she sped up as she streaked upwards.

Ah, yes. Four. Four worthy of her consideration. Hellseth? No, and he was dangerously close to her, she twisted to evade. Her wings burned as she continued to climb. It was as if she was bent on reaching the Red Star itself. As if even the thinning atmosphere could not stop her, let alone any...bronze.

Bronze. Four bronzes, and the instinct shifted. She had flown far, now she had flown high, now she would -choose-.

Mkukieth? No, he had misjudged her, he did not have the intelligence she sought. Hellseth? No. Quenith...maybe...but those two flanked her now, and there was one last bit of defiance. She twisted out from between them, threw herself into a barrel roll, for a moment, upside down, tail exposed as if to teasingly show them what they had not, quite caught, and...she veered to the side...

...and to the bronze who had not flown straight, the one who had anticipated. Was it choice or chance? She straightened her wings for long enough, only, to show for sure that she was not taken...she gave...then let Erusth claim her, neck and tail twining with the -young- bronze. A new start, a fresh hope for Pern as the two fell towards Ista's waters.

And Yselka cried out, turning from the ledge. The buttons flew from her shirt as she all but charged, through the other males. Only one could possibly be her desire. With only one could she complete and quench the fire that burned within her.

Her clothes were left in a trail behind her, the losers getting entirely too good a view of what they had failed to attain, and then she was before H'zu, her face tilted towards his. Offering.

And B'toc, the former weyrleader, lay unconscious in his own blood, the healers rushing towards him. Whether he lived or died would be a question only time would answer.

Just as only time would answer whether Lyeth of Ista laid the clutch for which all hoped.

[phlysolo]

And there she went! Just as Erusth had though! She was climbing and climbing and, thought it made Erusth's wings burn agonizingly from the sudden departure from level flight, he was not about to give up yet. He had been surprised by the amount of altitude she was able to gain in such a short time, but, he had been prepared, he had anticipated! She rolled away from several other bronzes, Erusth saw, feeling a savage delight pulsating within him. It was almost as if her glorious body, beautifully muscular was moving in slow motion as she flipped neatly upside down and continued her roll. He saw what he desired and roared, though through urging from his H'zu did not yaw up and away.

But was it luck? Was his position so thoroughly right because he had planned it so well, or because Lyeth wanted him to be there? The golden queen leveled her roll off just beneath him, just under his straining, wings as they, in unison, stopped their climb, high, high in the Pernese sky. Erusth, hungry and desperate with desire, had almost viciously lowered his neck, seeing his opportunity. Something had stopped him, as she watched her wings straighten out, and he realized that he didn't really catch her, she caught him.

His neck twined gracefully around hers, his tail wrapping securely, affectionately with hers. His wings, though tired, fatigued, were not going to fail them! Stretching them to their fullest extension, the bronze glided with Lyeth, supporting Lyeth, becoming one with the queen as he had so yearned to be since his arrival at Ista Weyr. Lust, and another emotion too, so so similar to what he felt for His filled the bronze beast. He could be mistaken of course; respect and love bolster like feelings in a being...

He would not let them fall quickly! He would keep his Lyeth in the air for as long as his wings could physically sustain him. Instinct then gave way to any of his other emotions and strength which Erusth did not know he possessed suddenly whelled up in him. His wings, he knew, could last forever now that Lyeth had claimed him! Yes, it would be long time in coming before this bronze allowed himself to separate from Lyeth. He would impregnated her! He would ensure that she bore a fine Clutch because he, Erusth, after all was the sire!

The only thing that H'zu registered in his mind was triumph and such a desire that he had never felt before. He was able to tear himself from Erusth's conscious, but barely. He was able to see Yselka, glorious in her dismissal of clothing, rushing through the throng of riders. Yes, the man had seen her before, lusted after her attractiveness, but never in all his years would he have thought that she would be offering the amazing temple that was her body to H'zu himself.

She stood before him, naked and offering, but H'zu thought it was he who should be offering himself to her. Taking her in his arms, somehow managing to shed himself of his clothing as well, he led her to her bed, no their bed, to join in the same union as their dragons high above them. Never once in his mind did the thought of his new position, of his responsibility, of his duties ahead enter. No, all he wanted, all he cared about was the Yselka who had chosen him.