Of Blood and Lust (Iroth Rises)

[lyonza]

It was during lunch that Garrett felt the stirring of something he had come to know very well over the last four Turns. He quietly excused himself, swung by the kitchens for a bottle of chilled wine and some food that would keep until later and headed for his quarters. He looked carefully at Iroth as she was sleeping on her ledge, her color almost blinding as the silvery undertone of her kind came to the fore. He managed to clean up a bit and make the place presentable before she suddenly sat up. Iroth sat quietly for a moment and then launched herself across the Bowl to the beastpens. She didn’t dither or ponder at all, just grabbed the biggest buck, snapped its neck and started blooding her kill.

No eating, love, he said as he heard the footsteps of all the interested parties starting to approach his quarters.

Do not tell me how to blood my kill, Iroth snapped in his mind. I know what to do; it is not my first time. She tossed the buck aside and with a weird little hop-jump and a bit of a glide grabbed another beast and repeated the performance. The crimson of the beast’s blood against her brilliantly flashing skin was startling, even at that distance.

He felt himself becoming Iroth more and more, fighting for control that she didn’t over do her preparation for the flight.

---

Iroth hissed as she saw the males lining the Rim, their lust rolling over her in waves. None of them were good enough to father her children. After killing the second buck, she roared a challenge to the males who all strained, ready for the moment she took to the sky.

For a long moment she sat there, knowing that all eyes were on her and then she rocketed into the sky, going for height at a steep angle.

---

He had a curious double-vision of things. The bodies pressing in around him as the riders of all the males participating in the flight tried to get near, tried to get his attention hoping it would influence Iroth’s choice. But he also felt the wind under his wings, the strong beating sails to gain height. He looked over his shoulder on his long neck, taunting the males chasing him.

He growled at the men around him and pushed them away a little. “Gentlemen… it’s only started. Please restrain yourselves or I’ll throw you out myself.” The funny thing was, he wasn’t joking and had done it at least once. He stumbled over to a chair and sat down, turning his attention wholly to be with Iroth, freely surrendering to her dominance.

---

He was sitting, having lunch with some friends when he noticed Garrett excusing himself in the middle of the meal. He thought it odd, but didn’t think much of it until Amoneth spoke to him.

Iroth is blooding her kill, the dragon said with a lot of excitement. I am going to chase her.

He managed not to let anything betray on his face as he stood up and immediately headed for Garrett’s quarters. He noted a few others just jumping up and heading in the same direction. He was still limping a little but had put the cane aside a few days before. Nothing I say will make you change your mind, will it? he asked as he walked into Garrett’s weyr. He could see the younger man exerting iron control over his dragon and he moved to stand close-by.

“Don’t let her-“ he didn’t get further than that because he got a furious look as a reward.

“I know what I’m doing, Z’mer. This is not my first mating flight.” Garrett’s words were strained and filled with irritation, contempt and anger. “If you’re here to hand out advice, I suggest you leave. If your dragon is taking part, please don’t behave like a beast.”

He put up his hands in surrender, but didn’t move away. “Whatever you say,” he said and glared at the other riders for good measure. Fat lot of good that did.

He was jostled and stumbled against the weyrwoman as the men pushed closer and he roughly shoved them back a bit to give Garrett some room. He didn’t touch the greyrider when he went to sit down, but moved with him to help in case it was need. He was fighting the same kind of double-vision that Garrett was experiencing, but he’s been doing it for twenty Turns, so he could disassociate himself a little better.

---

Amoneth took to the sky a moment after Iroth took off, a flurry of wings and snarls around him as his rivals tried to outmaneuver him. He snarled at Sabath when he came too close, electing to change his angle of approach to something a little shallower than the grey dragon’s. He would get more distance but it could be to his disadvantage if he misjudged by even the smallest margin.

He suddenly increased his angle of ascent and beat his wings strongly to catch up to the object of his immediate desires.

[Sh'mal]

Mine! Iroth rises! I chase![/color] Sh'mal shot up from his lonely seat in the dining cavern, seeing several other riders do the same. He followed the mass up to Garret's weyr, a place he'd never actually been. He didn't have much time to look around the place, though, as his vision shifted between the room and the sky. He was jostled nearer to the center of the room by the crowd and caught a glimpse of Z'mer trying to calm the men before he became Ligeth more fully.

---

Ligeth launched himself into the air behind the pack of bronzes and blacks. He kept to a low altitude, choosing speed rather than height, and passed by several of the larger dragons who hissed at him as they strained to rise towards Iroth. He would wait; he'd chased enough greens to know that many dove to escape their pursuers. With luck, he would be right there to catch her. And he wanted to. Not just for His, who needed a companion badly, but because of Iroth's speed and beauty. Ligeth sped up. He would catch this better-than-green grey, and all would be well.

[missing]

Mine, Iroth is blooding her kill.

And I suppose you wish to chase? they were up in their weyr so E'rra swung up onto Novath's back quickly before the mating lust took over. The black took off, gliding down to drop his rider off at Garrett's weyr before going to join the others where Iroth was blooding her kill.

She is excellent, this will be a good chase.

E'rra noticed Z'mer there already pushing some of the overenthusiastic riders back away from Garrett. The Blackrider reached out and snagged one who wasn't getting the hint, "You will control yourself and prove your skill with your dragon, not here." He released the man, feeling the emotions of Novath pressing ever more insistently on his psyche. He stood off, further back so as not to crowd Garrett, but not so far enough back that he couldn't try to stop an overzealous rider.

Mine, do not let them distract you.

I can do both, I'm not going to allow them to jump him though unless they catch Iroth. Even if it means you don't catch her. Novath didn't seem happy about that, but E'rra firmly kept that control for himself.

She rises, I will catch her! And then E'rra was Novath.

---

Novath launched himself after Iroth, this one could easily outlast all of the Blues and most of the Blacks, he had to choose his movements wisely. Fortunately, that happened to be his specialty. He kept up with her on her level f trajectory, he wouldn't be resorting to tricks like waiting beneath her. This one must be caught by skill, anything else was an insult to her talents.

He watched each movement and tension in her muscles for the slightest hints of how she might change her course. He was faster than her he knew, but she could easily outlast him if he burned himself out too quickly.

[tealah]

D'ak was eating lunch in his weyr when he felt Rayth go suddenly on the alert. The black was out on the rim, supposedly sunning himself but D'ak wasn't fooled. Rayth was eying up some dragon getting ready to rise and D'ak had a sinking suspicion he knew who it was.

Iroth, the dragon rumbled excitedly in confirmation. D'ak could almost see the dragon wriggling gleefully.

He sighed, surveyed the remains of his meal, and sighed again. Why did Iroth have to rise today? Why did Rayth have to be so interested? And why, why did the grey's rider have to be male?

Don't whine, D'ak, it's not attractive, Rayth interrupted tartly. Iroth rises today because she wishes to, I chase because I wish to, and I do not see why her rider's gender matters - you certainly do not care that much.

Hush, you randy old lizard, he growled, but the dragon was paying no attention to him. That disconcerting feeling of seeing two things at once nearly overwhelmed him a moment, showing him Iroth blooding her kill seemingly in his weyr, and D'ak gave in gracefully. It was true enough that Garrett's gender mattered less in the long-run than the fact that he was a greyrider. If Rayth won the flight lust would take care of any inhibitions, and he'd be the happier for it have actually won the grey's flight over M'kal, that was true.

Shaking off a little of Rayth's emotions, enough to be able to see straight anyways, D'ak pushed away from his unfinished meal and moved quickly to his weyr's lower cavern access. Thank goodness he had access. Anyone unused to seeing the usually-stoic rider in the grip of his dragon's flight lust might have been quite shocked to see him half-stumbling half-running toward the junior weyrwoman's weyr.

----

Rayth tempered his own eagerness with a note of caution as he watched Iroth blood her kills. He had done the same already earlier today as he watched her glowing, sleeping form, wishing for the slight boost of energy that might give him. Now he nearly vibrated with excitement. Iroth, he crooned to himself. Beautiful wonderful lovely Iroth. Ah, how he admired her strong form, her silvery-glowing hide. He tucked his crippled foreleg against his chest and rocked back on his haunches, preparing to follow her should she leap immediately.

Instead she paused, as though posing in a spotlight, and Rayth gave her all the attention she deserved even as he spread his wings in preparation... And then she leaped. Rayth pushed off from the rim with all the strength in his muscled hindquarters, sweeping his wings down to aid him in following the grey. He tried to ignore most of the males jockeying for position, though caution had him keeping an eye out for Sabath - Rayth had been stopped short by the other black's vicious flying more than once in other flights, and he had no wish to add another failure to his list.

He'd have trouble with this, he knew. There were blues chasing, which meant he wasn't the fastest in the chase, and there were larger blacks and bronzes too, which meant he wasn't the most enduring. Well, he'd just have to impress her with his determination, and maybe she'd like his fancy flying...

Rayth sacrificed some speed to turn a quick barrel-roll under one of the other competitors, corkscrew around another, and then he had to push himself to catch back up with the others.

[Zen]

M’kal had taken his meal in his weyr, opting to use the time to get some work done as well. He was looking over some hides A’dion had delegated off to him and picking at his food, feeling disctracted for some reason, though he in attempt to actually get something done he tried to get past it by simply not acknowledging the feeling.

Sabath sat out on his ledge, his blue-green gaze tingeing with orange and red as he watched Iroth sleeping out on her ledge. He hardly looked away, except to glare at any other male he noticed watching her, a growl rumbling in his throat. She would rise today… soon… and he would make sure no other touched what was his. After another moment watching Iroth he rose and leapt from his ledge, heading toward the beast pens and taking down a bull, blooding it for a quick burst of energy in anticipation of Iroth’s Rising.

M’kal paused in his work, … Sabath?

He got no reply, but a moment later the Black peered in from his ledge, Get on, Iroth will soon rise. I will not be late to chase her. Hurry!

M’kal strode toward him, noticing the blood on his muzzle, “You’ve blooded a kill…?” He held up a hand, “Don’t answer that….” Instead he swung up onto Sabath’s back, the Black immediately took off and winged his way to Garrett’s weyr where the ledge was now empty of its previous inhabitant.

Get off! He growled almost before he’d landed, crouching quickly and barely letting M’kal stumble down before taking off again. M’kal shook his head and ran his hand through his hair. Well, that explained the distraction anyway….

He made his way into the Weyr, trying to ignore the past memories, and let out a long breath. The dragons choose…, he thought to himself and stood behind the others who had gathered already in some hope that it would affect the results of the Flight somehow. He would have liked Garrett well enough if not for Sabath’s violent obsession with Iroth. He felt they could have been good friends if not for the awkwardness of… this.

~

Sabath flew to land on the rim with those who dared oppose him for his claim. There were more than usual… more challengers had transferred now that they had a new leader… but that would not stop him from claiming what was his once more.

Wisely, they all gave him plenty of space where he perched, watching his mate blood her kill and take another. He tensed. She roared her challenge. He opened his great maw to answer with a roar of his own, flaring his wings and swinging his head back and forth to glare at his competition with whirling red eyes.

There was a pause, a lull, and then she was off.

He launched himself from the rim with powerful downstrokes, snapping at one Blue who dared get to close, though the agile little male quickly winged away from him.

~

Nyxani and A’zael were sitting together during their meal, not far from Garrett, actually, and when he excused himself they both shortly received word from their dragons.

Nyxani, Iroth is blooding her kill!

And you plan to chase her, I suppose…? Nyx grimaced slightly at the thought of her Burgundy actually catching the Grey. At least she didn’t hold out much hope that Roth had much of a chance with her. He’d chased every time she’d risen and had yet to have any luck. He was even minorly injured by Sabath during the last Flight.

Of course.

A’zael was looking quite a bit more pleased about the subject, though he didn’t have any more hope for Navith catching Iroth than Nyx had for Roth catching her. If he did manage it, however, it would be even better, Just remember to stay away from Sabath.

Yes, yes, I know.

A’zael and Nyx both made their way to Garrett’s weyr, both of them knew the way perfectly well from previous non-Flight related visits. They paused briefly as the double vision flashed, seeing through their dragon’s eyes that Iroth had taken to the sky, the lust of their dragons rising in themselves. Lucky they were almost there, stepping into Garrett’s weyr before they were too overcome by their dragons to walk properly.

~

Roth ignored Sabath’s glares entirely as he sprang from the rim and took off after the now glowing silver Iroth. Nyx remarked on the fact that his father had been a Blue often enough that he could recall that little piece of information. If a Blue could father a clutch, than certainly he had a chance. He was careful, staying at the back of the pack for now, conserving his energy for a final all out push to catch the beautiful Grey when the best chance arose. He’d blooded a kill earlier, in anticipation, he just hoped it hadn’t been too early, that the boost of energy from the blood wouldn’t be all but used up before he needed it. He’d watched Sabath blood his kill only shortly before Iroth woke to blood her own. Between with that Black; he knew his mate to well. For now he tried to remain unassuming and out of the way, keep his gaze locked on Iroth for any hint of a chance to move in and claim her.

Navith, on the other hand, was not near as cautious as the Burgundy. He had also made sure to blood a kill, though only after he saw Roth doing so. He knew very well his disadvantage in size and endurance and the boost from the blood would be much needed if he was to Impress Iroth and last her whole Flight. Daringly, he sped past Sabath, the Black snapping at him but closing his teeth only on the empty air he left behind. If Navith was going to catch Iroth, with his low endurance, even for a Blue, he knew he would have to do it fast. He needed to stay at the head of the pack, look for an opening, and take it before any other. Even Navith knew and understood how badly things were stacked against him in this, but he just couldn’t help himself. He had to try.

With only a few swift wingbeats Sabath closed in on Navith, but the Blue was ready for him and corkscrewed away, keeping his position near the front, but farther away from the violent Black. Beautiful Iroth, you will be mine for sure! I’ll show you what Blues are made of! He sang, confident in what he said. He was surely the best Blue chasing, that was evident, and Roth, poor Roth, though they were friends, wasn’t even the proper size for a Burgundy. Definitely not a prime specimen.

There was a scream of pain and Roth swerved to avoid the Blue that Sabath had clawed. Instead the Blue smacked into a Brown behind him and the two fell…. He spared a glance at the fallen chasers long enough to notice the Brown free himself and struggle trying to catch up, while the Blue continued to fall, dark green ichor visible even from the distance. Sabath must have slashed the Blue’s wing for it was evident the poor creature did not make a graceful landing. In his quick glance Roth did not even know if the Blue had survived the fall, but there were more pressing matters ahead of him. He turned back to Iroth, keeping his vigilant watch for an opening….

[lyonza]

Garrett shot Z’mer and E’rra a grateful look that lasted only a moment before his attention was with his dragon again. He dimly heard the cry of pain from someone and an oath uttered by another.

~~~~~

She felt them all after her and it made her feel fantastic. She called a taunting cry and looked down to see a blue flying down below, like she would do something as amateurish as dropping down to avoid her pursuers. She huffed derisively and looked back at Sabath just as he slashed another blue’s wing. She was flattered that he would go through such lengths, but part of her considered it petty and wasteful. The thought made her pause a moment, not sure where that came from. He was Sabath, her mate! But there were others just as deserving of the honor. Novath was one of them, so was Ryath. She did have a preference for black dragons, but it wasn’t the be all and end all of choices.

Her distraction almost allowed an ambitious blue to catch up and the change in air pressure alerted her enough to suddenly change direction as she banked away, not sacrificing any height. She roar sounded mocking as she leveled out and looked over her shoulder again to see how they have scrambled to catch up with her.

She saw the bronze shape of Amoneth making his way closer from below and she flew higher to avoid him. Another glance showed some of them doing fancy flying to attract her attention. Part of her was impressed, but it wasn’t the main reason she would choose a mate. They would have to outwit and outfly her. Right now, none of them deserved the honor.

[missing]

E'rra saw through Novath's eyes as the blue fell, wing slashed and bleeding badly, Novath... why didn't Sabath's rider control him? Thread was coming, and that blue would probably be out of commission by the time it fell, if he even survived. The brown would likely be injured as well.

Yes I know. But his tone indicated that this was just an interesting obstacle for him. Still, Such a lack of restraint.

Iroth flew higher to avoid the bronze and Novath followed, banking a bit higher to fly slightly above the mass following Iroth had gathered. He remained close, his head above her tail. This position offered two advantages. One, he was in a better position to keep an eye on, and possibly catch Iroth. And two, it would be more difficult for Sabath to rend his own wings or anything else without causing a disturbance in the air big enough for Novath to know it was coming.

He didn't call out any affections to her, though he certainly was feeling a great deal of admiration for her at the moment after that maneuver. He wanted to tell her, but right now she wanted him to show her. There would be time to tell her afterward. For now he wanted to what this lovely creature would do...

[Sh'mal]

Sh'mal was back to being himself, for a short while. He found that he'd been pushed against the back wall of the room and was content to stay there for the moment. It looked like E'rra and Z'mer were doing a fine job of keeping the mob off Garret's back while the chase was on, and he felt no need to do anything to focus their attention on him. He just hoped Ligeth knew what he was doing. This wasn't a lowly green he was chasing; Iroth was a full-grown Gray with incredible endurance. Higher, Ligeth, he sent his dragon before combining with the blue again.

Ligeth twisted out of the way of the falling blue, a momentary fear overcoming him. Sabath meant business. But so did he. Taking his rider's advice, he began to climb, trying to ride thermals to preserve his strength. He had to get high, fast, if he was going to have any shot at catching her. Lovely, powerful Iroth, I shall impress you once more,[/color] the blue thought as he flew higher. He saw Sabath not too far behind him and vowed to keep out of his way. Another blue, Navith, was nearby as well. He hissed with displeasure. If any blue will catch her, it will be me.[/color] He beat his wings faster and, avoiding an outstretched claw, corkscrewed above the pack, only a few dragons away from lovely, Gray Iroth. Now all that was left was to await his chance to dive.

[tealah]

Rayth barely caught sight of Sabath's vicious attack on a blue before he had to instinctively swerve out of the path of Roth, who was avoiding the injured blue. The blue collided instead with a brown, but Rayth was too occupied with trying to make up the ground he'd lost to see what happened with them. As preoccupied as flight lust was keeping him, Rayth/D'ak couldn't help the infuriated roar he directed at the other black. How dare he injure a dragon so badly over a flight, even one for so beautiful a creature as the lovely Iroth? Every dragon was needed, every dragon!

In Garret's weyr, D'ak was fighting to shake of at least a little of his fury, so that he wouldn't go off and knock M'kal down. The rational bit that was still D'ak was aware that it wasn't M'kal's fault, entirely, that his dragon was so vicious. "Control your dragon, M'kal!" he choked out in a snarl. If that had been Rayth... Oh Faranth if that had been Rayth.

Rayth dismissed his rider's concern. Instead he followed Iroth in her upward climb. Instead of following straight, however, he swung wide and labored to arc back in toward her. A risky move, for if she changed direction completely he'd be behind everyone else, but he had enough speed that he could possibly catch up with her on this trajectory and enough stamina to hopefully not run out of energy before he was able to.

Added bonus, he was hopefully safely out of Sabath's reach.

[Zen]

Sabath had a moment to feel pleased with himself ending that Blue’s chances in the Flight, not that he’d had much of one to begin with. He’d deserved what he’d gotten, getting so close…. He paid no heed to Rayth’s furious roar at him. If the cripple was too much a coward to fight for what he wanted then it wasn’t Sabath’s problem at all. The chance to sire a clutch was a rare one indeed and Sabath was not going to give it up easily. Surely no Blue should catch his Iroth, especially with the Pass upon them. They needed large clutches, not those that a puny Blue could sire.

M’kal felt Sabath’s triumph and then his annoyance at Rayth’s angry roar. He closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall, hands clenched into fists as D’ak growled at him to control his dragon. Honestly things would be much worse if he wasn’t exerting some control over Sabath already. Sabath had only ever chased two females, truly. Orlaith and Iroth. He was never as violent when chasing Orlaith, had never truly hurt another dragon then, but with Iroth….

Sabath… Thread is coming… you can’t do this anymore. We need every dragon! It was one thing when the Black had wounded others previously, they at least hadn’t had to worry about them being able to fly Thread. He remembered the horror of that first Flight, he’d nearly lost all control of Sabath then, but somehow he’d regained it before too much happened. He’d never seen his dragon so violent. Since then he’d known what to expect, known to keep firm control to prevent that first Flight from repeating itself.

He felt Sabath’s deep growl, You know I can do worse. It is only you that keeps me from it. The Blue got too close. You don’t see me going after them all like I wish to, do you? Now be silent before you distract me further! He banked hard to follow after Iroth, a bit late after M’kal’s scolding had distracted him so.

~

The rider of the fallen Blue brushed past A’zael, hurrying to find and tend his dragon. He barely registered it, much more aware of Navith’s own position than anything going on around him in the weyr.

Navith was greatly satisfied when Sabath seemed distracted and he left him behind. For now, he was keeping up well. He didn’t even feel tired at all and was having better luck maneuvering with Iroth than most of the larger dragons at the moment. It certainly gave him a boost to his own confidence. He spiraled down in an impressive little move to bring him slightly below Iroth, closing the distance between them just a little. He snorted derisively at Ligeth, challenging his claim as a Blue, but said nothing.

~

Roth was slowly attempting to work his way closer to Iroth, rising above most of the others so he wouldn’t have to worry about wasting energy dodging around them. He still flew a steady pace, considering the overall pace of the flight anyway, worried he would tire before he got his chance at the Grey.

Nyx stood against the wall some distance from M’kal, probably as enthusiastic about the idea of her dragon winning this flight as he was, though at the moment she was more Roth than Nyxani. She felt his focus and determination, and the ever growing lust, and part of her wouldn’t mind at all if he caught Iroth.

[lyonza]

Garrett heard the words between D’ak and M’kal but it didn’t piece his awareness, his attention firmly with Iroth. He wanted E’rra closer to at least hold his hand and made him calm, but now wasn’t the time for it. He felt sorry for the bluerider who’s dragon got slashed by Sabath and he wished that the black dragon wasn’t so vicious in his pursuit of Iroth. They would need all the dragons they can get to fight the oncoming menace and the poor blue would be out of commission for a long time.

He stared sightlessly at the wall opposite, somehow wishing it had the tapestry of the Red Star hanging there – it was a good reminder that Iroth’s flight needed to produce as many eggs as possible. Iroth and Amoneth would make the most, so would any of the other bronzes following her, but he knew Iroth preferred black dragons, just like he seemed to prefer their riders.

---

She felt like she could fly forever, but at some point one of her suitors will have to get close enough to catch her. Sabath was catching up, Novath was close too, Ligeth was about to make an effort she could tell, Navith was trying to outthink her which was ambitious and quite clever, Roth was doggedly keeping after her, Amoneth was trying to be cunning but she would show them all.

She cast a quick look around again and then suddenly pulled up into a loop, then at the apex did a quick flip over to be right side up again before banking away from them all.

Her instincts told her, the higher and longer the flight, the better the clutch. She changed direction again, climbing higher as she did. Looking back she wondered who would still make it. The blues and burgundies would fall away soon, then it was the browns, black and bronzes.

---

Amoneth was almost on her when Iroth pulled her half loop up, flipping over and then banking away. He really admired the maneuver and briefly wondered if she would do it again in her next flight. She was also climbing higher all the time, another good sign to him. He could dimly feel Z’mer’s clinical assessment at the back of his mind. His rider would remember.

[missing]

E'rra had a brief moment of clarity through the haze of Novath's lust and saw Garrett sitting there, the moment was soon and he could feel it. No matter the outcome he would be there when these others left, and so he was calm. The calm carried over the bond to his dragon, who found himself better focused through the frenzy that consumed so many others.

Novath's eyes took in every detail of every muscle that could be viewed from above, so when they tensed he knew to expect something. In his mind he felt E'rra's recognition of a similar tension in his own muscles in one of their many training sessions, he was prepared...

He pulled up with her, but not so much as she did as he was already above her. He had to bank more to accommodate the decreased turning distance upward, but a feeling from E'rra told him that he could play that to his advantage. He was faster than Iroth, but could keep going longer than the blues so even if this failed he might still have another chance. But then, after than maneuver Iroth had pulled, Novath would not be all that surprised if the clever beast saw it coming.

He banked further than he should, for all intensive purposes looking as if he had lost control or couldn't keep up with the move. These dragons didn't know him, they'd never seen him in a flight before, and they had no idea of his abilities. He would use that to his advantage. He banked back around, turning the right turn into a wider arc, and coming around after the others had hopefully counted him out of the chase. He found an opening and went for it, reaching for Iroth as he did so.

[Sh'mal]

Ligeth was taken by surprise by Iroth's maneuver. Lovely, swift Iroth...[/color] he mused as he spun to follow. Yes! He was in the front of the pack! The others were too large to change directions quickly. In his momentary rush of confidence, he made the mistake of flying directly over Sabath, who reached out and ripped a gash in his foreleg. Pain. Ligeth dropped a few dragonlengths before regaining his senses. His lust dulled the sensations from his dripping limb. He must not give up!

"Ligeth!" Sh'mal was jolted out of his union by the flash of pain. He turned to glare at M'kal, whose face clearly showed his struggle with the violent dragon. He knew that he couldn't blame the blackrider for his dragon's actions, but that didn't stop his anger. Ligeth! Drop out! You don't have the strength anymore! No. I must...beat him![/color] Ligeth, calm down. You're injured. You can't possibly catch her now. It's over. Come down so we can heal you. As Sh'mal mindspoke, he extracted himself from the room and began sprinting down the stairs towards the Bowl. But...[/color]
Ligeth! Come down! Sh'mal commanded, using all of his willpower. He felt the blue briefly struggle, then give in. I come...[/color] Sh'mal sighed with relief, then continued down towards where Ligeth was landing.

[tealah]

Rayth/D'ak cursed fluently to themself when they saw the gray form change directions. He'd lost his gamble to catch her in his arc, and now he'd be behind all others. No, but wait, the beautiful dragon was changing directions again, and now he was not much worse off than before. He twisted in his path in an effort to keep his trajectory in relation to Iroth. But no! Novath was making a move! A rumbling growl low in their throat, Rayth threw more speed into his arc, climbing a bit to stay on level with Iroth.

You won't get there in time to block him, D'ak spoke with surprising clarity. He's too close to Iroth already and you're too far.

Then we had better hope that Sabath gets to him first and is too busy with him to catch Iroth, Rayth snapped back in agitation, but he did not slow. Instead he pulled one wing in slightly to tighten the arc, and put on another burst of speed. The pace was wearing on him, but Rayth completely dismissed the growing fatigue. He had reserves to spare, yet, and what was fatigue to the pain he dealt with every day on the ground?

Back in Garrett's weyr, D'ak blinked at the intensity in his dragons voice. Flights meant a lot to him in general, D'ak knew, and he had a soft spot for babies of all sorts, but with Flights where the chance to father his own children was at stake being so rare, it was easy to forget between times just how much Rayth wanted it. All Da'k had cared about for flights was whether he could get some sort of prestige or advancement from them... He took a steadying breath and allowed himself to be drawn back into the maelstrom of Rayth/D'ak. For Rayth's sake he found himself hoping that Sabath would stop Novath, or a blue would cut him off with superior speed before dropping out, or... D'ak cut off his fretful line of thought before it could distract Rayth.

[Zen]

Sabath was lagging, much to his great annoyance, some of the others had gotten in front him while he’d been distracted. He almost could have cursed his rider, but it wasn’t quite in him to do so. When another Blue dared get too close he slashed his claws forward, catching on the Blue’s leg, and he promptly dropped out. He gave a furious roar that he was not at the head of the pack and charged forward, ramming into a Burgundy and shoving him aside as he attempted to regain his more favorable position near the front.

As Iroth suddenly headed upward, he followed, still farther back than he’d like but at least it gave him more notice when she pulled a surprise maneuver like that. He noticed many Blues dropping out of their own accord at this point, and a few Burgundies as well, including the one he had rammed into. Then she leveled out and he saw not only another Black, but a Blue, none other than Navith, heading straight for her. He roared once more, working his wings harder and snapping at the tails of dragons in front of him, though most of them wisely moved aside. Still, he was too far away to stop Novath or Navith….

~

Navith nearly gave a frustrated screech as Iroth suddenly pulled up. This vertical flight was going to tire him out sooner, which, he knew, was the point. Iroth would only allow the best dragon to sire her children. Luckily he was known for his quick reactions and was able to follow the Grey as she rose higher without losing too much distance from her, straining his wings which seemed they needed to beat twice or thrice for every one beat of Iroth’s in order to keep up. Good, she’d leveled out again. He knew he had to make his move soon. His wings were starting to feel heavy, he couldn’t last much longer.

He hadn’t been paying much attention to any of the other contenders except to keep an eye on Sabath’s nearness to him when suddenly Novath came out of no where, reaching for Iroth. With a challenging bugle he put everything he had into a last ditch effort to get to the Grey before Novath could. If he didn’t try now and Novath caught her it would have all been for nothing… he at least had to try before his energy was fully depleted. He darted forward with the agility Blues and Greens are best known for, wings pumping, stretching to their limits with each stroke as he closed in on Iroth. He had to beat Novath… had to… had to prove a Blue could do this too.

~

Roth was beginning to feel the strain in his wings as well as he followed Iroth higher. He took a more conservative approach when Navith and Novath moved in, still moving steadily closer, but waiting and hoping that they would fail and as she avoided those two maybe then he could take his chance and claim her. Yes. That’s what would happen. He just had to make sure he was in the right place to do so….