What she needs
Who: Avey and Leisath, Eila and Kelerith, F'sen and Peraith (NPC by Skinner), Javeri and Chadamalith, K'del and Cadejoth, Phara and Bennath, T'rev and Mecaith
Where: Bowl, sky, guest weyr
When: After sunset on day 5, month 3, turn 19
What: Leisath rises. There's lots of chasing. Chadamalith wins. Poor Veri. Poor Avey. After there is some pouting, an attempt to flee, tears, and then other things until morning.
Leisath dives off her ledge with Avey aboard, and lands lightly outside the corrals, fluttering her wings and offering an enticing croon to the male dragons nearby. Avey slides to the ground, and pats her green gently on the foreleg. She tips her head up to meet Leisath's eyes, and they're in silent communication for a few moments. Then, with a little smirk on her face, Avey reaches up to unfasten Leisath's riding straps.
Eila's back to Ista on another transport trip, but her passengers have long since disappeared into the Weyr with no signs of returning any time soon, and she instead finds herself cajoling Kelerith down from one of his usual scaling exercises, scampering higher and higher with well-placed hooked claws. Up and up he goes, despite Eila's protests of impropriety, and eventually she just sets herself cross-armed against a convenient rock, foot tapping lightly against the ground, and she doesn't even seem to notice Avey's arrival although immediately, intently Kelerith's head swings around to seek out the green and he clings tighter to the cliff wall.
All day Chadamalith has not been noticing Leisath. He's not even looked her way twice whenever their paths crossed while busy doing their own things. Right now he's still not noticing the green who may or may not be extra shiny right now. He's just sprawled in the bowl watching a group of visitors just arrived get themselves off their runners before heading for the corrals. Javeri's nowhere in sight, likely having a late dinner inside.
It's out of the caverns that T'rev comes, just starting to do up his jacket as he walks over towards where Mecaith lingers, watching lights come on around the bowl. Leisath's landing and that croon draw his attention and the bronze sits there for a moment, head tilted in consideration. T'rev just arches both brows and leans in close to the bronze, not too differently from how Avey just did.
Cadejoth's arrival is a hurried one, the bronze popping in to the sky above the weyr, then hurtling down towards a landing in the moments immediately following this. His rider looks less harried, after a glance about the bowl registers - probably? - Leisath; he slings himself down to the ground and pulls off his jacket, murmuring, beneath his breath, "See? Plenty of time. Told you I could finish my bath." His hair is distinctly damp, though drying quickly given the Istan heat.
Across the bowl, Idraila and Sivrenth are making their way in from the beach or the jungles or some other leisure destination, with Idraila dressed casually and carrying her shoes dangling from one hand. Both are making their way slowly, enjoying the cooler evening air, at least until Sivrenth perks his head up, eyes whirling a brighter and swifter color. With an eager jump, her arcs up and over to the corrals, settling in on a low-hanging ledge with just a nervous rustling of wings. He glances around at the gathering dragons, issuing quick but awkward mental greetings all around, though he avoids infringing on Liesath's thoughts in such a way. Idraila trails after her dragon and it's clear when she gets closer that all color has drained from her face. Fingers twist around and around in the hem of her light tunic while she hovers on the edge of the group of riders.
Extra shiny? Hard to say. After all, Leisath is always shiny, especially after she's been freshly oiled, which she looks to have been recently. Avey drops the riding straps in a pile on the ground, and then tugs at her shirt and runs a hand through her hair. "Well," she says, making a little 'do your thing' gesture at Leisath and moving back to lean against the fence, tucking her arms behind the top rail. But Leisath is for the moment making a meal of the attention from those males, rather than the beasts inside the pen. She tilts her head, fixing her eyes first on Mecaith, then Kelerith and Sivrenth, and finally on Chadamalith, who's ignoring her. That's not the reaction she was hoping for. She croons again, this time more insistently, and takes a few steps toward where Chadamalith is to make sure he notices her.
Kelerith is happy to provide where Chadamalith is lacking, if Leisath will accept his attentions: he quickly skitters sidelong against the bowl wall until he's as near as he can be to her without actually coming down, and he even stretches his neck back over his squat body to offer a clipped, high warble. Eila does sit up at this, unfolding her arms and turning to eye first her lifemate, and then, quickly, the green. A short glance skyward, and then back towards the Weyr proper proves it's too late to escape, especially without her passengers, and so the girl presses her lips together and frowns faintly. K'del: she immediately recognizes him, at least, and lifts a hand in greeting with a wry, 'well what do you know' sort of smile.
Running a hand up along Mecaith's neck, T'rev still seems to be lost in conversation with the bronze. Still placid-seeming, though his gaze is drawn to Leisath briefly, Mecaith then drops his head to rest gently against his rider. T'rev takes a deep breath and nods after a moment, moves to start pulling straps off of him. "Okay," he says simply.
Sivrenth ducks his head deferentially to Liesath when she turns her regard on him, providing perhaps an even starker contract to the rude neglect of Chadamalith. Idraila finally approaches the fence around which everyone seems to be congregating, her lips skimming only briefly up into the required smile of greeting. Sobered again, she turns her attention to her shoes and, with nothing else to do, she decides to put them back on her feet again.
Chadamalith is just not the sort to croon out a love song to a green no matter how beautiful she might be. But he watches from where he lounges. And his attention is going to have to do because for him, from someone soliciting his attention, it's the best that will come. And still there's no sign of Javeri.
K'del returns Eila's smile, equally wry, and wanders towards his clutchmate, hands slung into his pockets and entirely too relaxed, really. "Terrible timing," he remarks, though he doesn't sound /too/ upset about it. "But when one's presence is requested..." Trust him. Cadejoth, once free of his rider, lifts back into the air immediately above the ground, so as to cross easily the remaining distance between himself, the other males - and Leisath, of course, who gets a warm, well-pleased rumble of a greeting. His tail twitches; he tilts his head up; he waits.
Avey is tolerant of the show Leisath's putting on, but she doesn't seem entirely comfortable as the center of attention. She doesn't meet the eyes of any of the riders who are circling around, with one exception: when she realizes K'del is here, she shoots a grateful look at him, followed immediately by an anticipatory grin. "Hi, K'del," she calls over, all Leisath's flirtatiousness present in her voice. She beckons him over, while Leisath, unfolds her wings and folds them again, showing off. The green emits a brief hiss of warning for Kelerith: not /too/ close. She curls her tail around her body, then uncurls it again, restless. Intrigued by Sivrenth's deferential nod, Leisath gives him a longer looking-over.
With straps off, T'rev winds the lengths of leather up in a neat coil and tucks them over his shoulder, steps away from Mecaith enough to give him space and ambles into the growing group of riders collecting around Avey. He shoots her a friendly smile and a nod. "Heya, Avey," he greets with typical good humor and spots some more familiar faces in the crowd. "Eila, nice t'see you again. Though I'm guessin' the circumstance could be a titch better," he says with a wry chuckle and slides his hands into his pockets. Patient. They're both patient, him and his bronze.
Kelerith is a-a-a-all the way over here, see? He's scritch-scratching backwards and upwards at that sharp hiss, although for all outward appearances is unperturbed, judging by the way he's perking his head forward, tilting it curiously this way and that, aqua-rimmed eyes whirling a dark yellow-shot green. "Mph," Eila grunts, finally unfolding herself and ambling nearer to the loose grouping of riders, her head ducked and hair trailing in her eyes, though she does look up at T'rev's greeting and flashes a quick smile. "Hi, T'rev. Avey," she nods once in acknowledgement of the greenrider, a bit awkwardly as she scuffs her feet against the turf.
The Istan blue waits, ever patient, ever observant. Eyes that slowly begin to whirl faster not only look at Leisath, but at the other dragons so he can size them up, get their measure, make his determinations. But when that is done his eyes go right back to the green as his wings flutter and his tail twitches once and then twice.
Sivrenth blinks back at Leisath's long look, clearly surprised at being singled out by the green of the hour. His leathery-looking wings seem to shiver with uncertainty, but as if suddenly prompted, he straightens up on his stony spot and makes himself look more statuesque. He emits a noise that sounds almost like a throat-clearing. Idraila, finished adjusting her shoes to within a quarter-inch of perfection, straightens and leans her elbows down onto the fence, tensely waiting there for this whole thing to be over with.
K'del's attention turns towards Avey as she greets him, and he flashes her an encouraging smile, though he takes his time to cross the distance between them. "How're you holding up?" he asks, more serious than her flirtacious greeting probably encourages. His gaze slides from the greenrider to the others - mostly unfamiliar faces - and he just shrugs: well, what can they do? Cadejoth extends his tail, still twitching, wings aflutter: ready.
Avey hears her name and looks around. She recognizes T'rev, but her smile is odd, like she's not quite sure what to make of him. "Hi," she says, and then her eyes flick to Eila when he greets her. "Hey, Eila. Uh. Heh." She laughs awkwardly and grins. Her face lights up as K'del approaches, and she steps away from the fence, trotting forward a couple of paces to meet him - at which point she grabs him by the ears and kisses him hard, holding his head to hers with one hand and wrapping the other arm around him. Almost at the same moment, Leisath screeches a challenge to the males and leaps aloft, just high enough to glide over the fence and into the corrals, where she swiftly strikes down a herdbeast and kills it by seizing its head in her jaws and snapping its neck.
/That/ tilts a lopsided smile onto T'rev's face as Avey uses K'del's ears for jug handles. He does look away though, politely, winks over at Eila and murmurs, sotto voce: "At least she knows who she wants, huh?" then he straightens and folds his arms across his chest, sliding a curious look over at Mecaith who ... hasn't moved. He's watching, hanging back, still with that thoughtful analytical air to him, like he too is taking Leisath's measure in a manner not too dissimilar to Chadamalith.
Now she's moving even if not so far and Chadamalith watches this with so much interest. Another tail twitch as he observes Leisath's kill. Interesting. His neck stretches out all the way as his wings flutter once more and he watches. Then he's still. His tail stops, his wings settle, and his head remains right where it is stretched out like that. He's gone statue and lies there just like that. Waiting.
Eila allows herself one breathless sort of laugh at Avey's unexpected movement, though she averts her gaze from the greenrider and K'del and turns slate eyes on the pen. Kelerith, meanwhile, unfurls his wings with a flash of lavender sails although his tail remains tightly coiled against his body, and with a swift motion he shoves himself from the cliff wall, dropping like a stone before he catches air and skims to the corrals; he doesn't down a beast, however he might startle them, and instead just chirps satisfaction and takes up a post nearby. "At least," Eila agrees faintly, curling her smile upward towards T'rev.
With wide, watching eyes, Idraila follows Avey as she greets that Reachian bronzerider. She stares rudely and blankly throughout the affectionate gesture, but as soon as they break so does her gaze; she continues to study the minute topography of the ground on the other side of the fence, seemingly ignoring the progress of the flight. "Wonder who the favorite is," she mutters with a dryly humorous tone to the wood beneath her arms. Sivrenth startles at that challenging scream of the green's, but it only interrupts his focus for a second. The crouch that he takes on again has a new look of readiness to it. He doesn't pounce on any unsuspecting beast, but leaves them all for Liesath.
Whatever K'del expected, it plainly wasn't this, though he recovers his composure within a moment, going from awkward to participatory, and smooching Avey soundly. Leisath's same-time leap for the feeding grounds sends Cadejoth into a lunging motion that ends a moment later: with none of the other males following her in, he takes a half motion backwards. Well, then. He can wait, too. K'del pulls back, a moment later, noting to Avey, after a half-embarrassed glance around at the other riders, "Not fair to show /too/ much preference, mm, Avey?" Is he sidling away, slightly? Just a step or two? Awkward.
Phara has been here too long, making mischief with old friends. Now on her way home she dogs her way out into the bowl, only to find Bennath watching events too intently. Her mouth twitches down and her pace quickens towards the dragon. Her face is already set, oh, not happy. She talks quickly, quietly to him, but he seems just as stubborn as her. Teeth gritted, resigned, she begins removing his straps quickly even as he tries to lurch forward into the gathering crowd.
From the beach, a blue whirls into the air and careens towards the bowl and another Fortian joins the crowd. Peraith careens into the bowl, skids to a landing, and immediately starts hopping and jostling, ready to take right off again. His rider comes running after on foot, looking flushed and upset; he must have lost the argument about chasing. Not Peraith's problem.
Leisath, fortunately for her very distracted rider, seems not to be tempted by her kill's flesh. She opens its throat and bloods greedily, then raises her reddened muzzle, staring at the motionless males outside the pen. Well, except for Cadejoth, who gets a small, sweet little croon. Then, abruptly, she springs into the air, tail whipping behind her as she takes advantage of the stiff ocean breeze to boost her aloft, and quickly. Avey blinks at K'del, stumbling for balance when he pulls back; she hadn't expected that. And she's miffed by it. "There's no 'fair' in flights!" she declares, her voice pitched rather higher than usual. With one hand she reaches out, grasping for his wrist in a proprietary gesture.
"He chased before?" T'rev inquires in that same undertone of Eila, seemingly quite calm and unaffected himself. For now. Casually conversational he is, though there's a flick of his eyes back over towards Mecaith whose eyes are just barely now taking on a hint of violet, the bronze dragon's gaze fixed on Leisath and how she wings across the corral, how she takes that beast down. Perhaps he's calculating angles and possible ascents. Idraila's mutter draws the Fortian's attention to her next and his grin grows wider for just a moment. Deep breath in, deep breath out and the bronzerider's eyes roam the circumference of the bowl as if seeking out the guest weyr and fixing its location in his mind once again. Leisath's sudden lift-off brings T'rev's head back around and again he's checking in on Mecaith who ... stays put, watching, watching ... and then finally his wings stretch wide, dark undersides lifting him upward in her wake, though he's one of the last off the ground.
Now Javeri appears. Now when it's too late to keep Chadamalith from doing what he wants to do. Out of breath as she races in from the plateau this flight clearly interrupted her own entertainment as her braids are mussed and she's dragging her sarong on the ground nearly tripping bare feet over it as she tries to adjust her bikini at the same time. "No, no, no, no," she chants as she tries to reach where Chadamalith watches. Mecaith may be one of the last, but the Istan blue makes sure he is the last. He needs to see where the others go and what their plan seems to be. So many unknown dragons he has to watch them all and still focus all his attention on Leisath. Just as he takes off his rider skids to a stop where he just was.
"Yeah, but..." begins K'del, but he seems to register that it's a losing battle, so he simply smiles blandly, turning his hand about so that he can grab hers, instead of being held by the wrist. He squeezes it - and glances upwards. "We should retire to the guest weyr," he says then, with another glance about the assembled riders; sorry, sorry. Cadejoth has recovered by his almost-dive towards the pens, but he's still not one of the first off the ground in pursuit of the green. Still: he's fast, wingbeats instantly pulling him upwards into the unfamiliar thermals.
In anticipation, Kelerith tenses and draws in tighter together -- he's just a huddled mass of squat, cornflower blue for a heartbeat until Leisath takes to the air and his wings snap out and he launches hard upward after her. There's no thoughtful reckoning here, only a manic flurry of energy as he shoots off, leaving hapless Eila behind to rub her cheeks hard with her hands and sigh at T'rev. "Yeah. Not very often, though, and he's never caught. Too --" one hand skitters to her head to flick around in a general motion. "Scattered. Enthused." She's scattered, herself, eyes drifting up after the blue as the girl takes a few dragging steps backward, and notably less enthused.
Phara gets Bennath's straps just in time. No sooner have they fallen away than he's off like a shot. His bright blue hide is unmistakable, even in the gloom. Phara's head turns slowly to look for the green's rider. "I'm starting to think Ista is bad luck," she says grouchily, stomping off towards the group. Her eyebrows lift to recognize some of the riders present. She swallows hard, gravitating towards T'rev. "Which one?" she demands of no one in particular, still looking for the green's rider. Up above, Bennath is swiftly pulling ahead into the front of the pack, trying to cut himself an empty space to be able to maneuver in.
Boing! Peraith goes springing after the green, sending up a shower of sand that had, until now, managed to cling to him. He's not much of a thinker when he chases, and there's not much going on there beyond 'see green, chase green.' F'sen, his rider, is panting when he reaches the knot of waiting riders - and starts blushing when he recognizes T'rev and Phara. Hello, Flint wing. Watch my embarrassment, won't you? He's too much of a stickler, though, not to salute his wingleader and pant out "Sir," before he drops down to hold his knees while he recovers. Maybe.
Sivrenth seems just about to join his peers in the blooding spree, hovering uncertainly on the edge of his perch, almost ready to drop. But it instead of dropping, he reverses the inclination and throws himself skyward instead, joining in on the crack and whip of rushing wings as he begins his chase. Idraila follows the trail of the group of dragons, eyes following waving tails, until it's too far to see any distinction between them. Javeri gets her attention then, distracted though it may be. "I know," is all she offers her fellow weyrling before she visibly swallows and looks at the ground again.
"Hahaha!" Avey laughs as Javeri comes running up, and taunts her, "You really want to, you know you want to!" On realizing that her hand is trapped she narrows her eyes at K'del and snatches her hand free, put out that he isn't doing things the way she wanted. "You're not supposed to say! I get to say. You don't boss me!" she retorts. Clearly, she intends on bossing /him/, and perhaps more, because she's reaching for his ears again. Leisath, meanwhile, is arrowing ever upward, aiming for as much height as she can get as quickly as she can get it. For the time being, she pays no attention to the males pursuing her, only dimly aware of their presence.
T'rev opens his mouth to lend K'del his support, but instead offers Eila his arm politely. "It's just that way," he notes of the guest weyr, apparently intending, of all things, to play /gentleman/ at a flight. Phara's approach though, lifts his gaze for a moment and he shoots her a wry grin. "Avey there, Leisath's," he tells his wingrider. Javeri's mantra-strewn approach amuses briefly, but then the bronzerider seems to be aiming towards starting the progression to the guest weyr, whether Eila takes his arm or not. Even more amusing, up in the sky, could be Mecaith and Chadamalith each trying to find a spot from which they can /watch/ everything and everyone else /including/ Leisath as the dark-winged bronze's flight path steadies out and he starts to adopt the strategy that's been formulating in his mind.
"I don't like children," Javeri snarls at Avey when she heads the greenrider. Oh, she is definitely not happy at all by this. Narrow eyes look at her fellow weyrling and then to her other as she gives Idraila a sympathetic look. "What a waste of a good night," she says before finally looking at everyone else gathered. Mostly she looks at K'del and the way him and Avey seem to be close. "He's never going to win," she says as Chadamalith rises higher to gain altitude on the pack. A good place for him to watch and wait for his time. While the Istan bluerider does not want to be here she's got no choice and points out, "He's too big and he doesn't know the thermals." She does not want to win, but Chadamalith sure does and right now she's turning towards wanting what he wants. Feet stomp towards the guest weyr and she trips about halfway when her blue's head swivels too fast to try to catch Mecaith in view as well and makes her a bit dizzy on the ground.
Kelerith angles to draw abreast of Bennath; he's the smallest blue by far, and only somewhat larger than Leisath herself and as a result he's got speed, though not heft, on his side, so he's jostled by a brown that comes too near and with a great whirling display of teeth and claw he snarls and darts away. Leisath, however, captures his attention wholly, and the brown is quickly forgotten as the blue catches an updraft with his too-long wings and sails higher. On the ground, Eila meanwhile gratefully takes T'rev's arm and leans maybe a little too hard against it, eyes now fixed on the guest weyr -- onward! -- and jaw set firmly. Frustration, maybe. Not likely determination. "Don't wear yourself out again, darling," she murmurs under her breath.
K'del's hands go up in the air as Avey goes for his ears again: resigned. Whatever she wants to do, he'll cope, though it doesn't stop his expression from being caught between amused and embarrassed - and edging increasingly towards lustful. "As you wish," he says, after a swallow, managing a rueful smile. Cadejoth hurtles after Leisath, navigating the skies as best he can for speed, while aiming ever upwards - fast, faster, fastest. Well. As fast, anyway, as his size allows. There are no strategies here: he just /flies/.
Idraila considers Avey warily, but is at the same time inexplicably drawn to her, the angle of her shoulders reorienting to the greenrider and a few steps taken slowly in her direction. She glances the way of those that are meandering toward a guest weyr, but hesitates around the anchor that Avey has become. In the end, she remains in place. Meanwhile, above them all, Sivrenth strains to match Liesath's height. Unlike several of the others, he has no strategy, involves himself in no jockeying. He just follows with a single-minded focus, as he avoids nicking any wings or colliding with any straying talons.
Peraith flies afoul of a bad current that tips one wing upwards, forcing him off balance. Undeterred, the large blue wrenches himself back around and keeps darting towards the green, though he's now lagging unimpressively towards the back of the pack. F'sen lets out one final heave to steady his breath and straightens, tugging his collar. He falls in step behind T'rev, more interested in following him to the guest weyr than he is in lingering behind with Avey herself.
Phara looks slightly ill when she follows T'rev's gaze to the istan greenrider. "/Really/ bad luck," Phara mutters, disgruntled now. "And this was such a nice day, too." She sighs and her eyebrows lift at the hold this Avey has on ... K'del? "Ugh, is /everyone/ here?" Oh well. At least she might get some fun out of this after all, if Bennath doesn't win. Bennath tips his wings, gaining air effortlessly. He may not be as intimate with Ista as he is with Fort, but his rider and he are frequent visitors and he knows /flying/. He gains, gains, dizzying heights, Leisath's pretty apple hide in his sights. He will make her she see how their colors compliment each other. How nicely they could fly, the two of them, together.
"Shut up! Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Avey bellows in Javeri's general direction, and then kisses K'del again, holding on tight to him; she has no intention of letting him escape and ignores the rest of the riders wandering toward the guest weyr. Leisath decides she's got enough height and peeks over her shoulder, calling out to the males behind her with a playful note in her bugle. She arcs around, still gaining altitude, surveying the lot of them. And as she does, Avey finds herself letting go of K'del, except for hands that grasp vaguely at his arms for balance. Her eyes are far away, her expression bright with the thrill of flight. She looks right through the bronzerider, and Idraila too, without even seeing them.
T'rev smiles down at Eila and reaches across to give her hand a reassuring pat. "It'll be okay," he tells her, still low-voiced and walks onward towards the dark entryway to the guest weyr. There's a sudden scurry of footsteps and someone from the lower caverns hastily flips open a few glows thoughtfully for the incoming riders, before scooting out of the way again, double-time. Phara earns another look and T'rev's one shoulder lifts in a slight shrug. "Good size pack," is his only remark, because he's busily walking. Up above, Mecaith slide-slips through the air, careful not to run afoul of Chadamalith and lifts upwards the better to get a high-level view of the chase. His focus is increasingly on Leisath and how /she/ moves, though the rest are kept careful track of.
<< Pretty pretty pretty pretty, >> What might be first taken for a wordless rush of sheer /sound/ -- bleeps and tones and the crackle of white noise -- finally resolves into a mindless chant broadcast shamelessly for all to hear as Kelerith tucks his body all close, tail coiled tight and his feet bound hard against his body. What might be heard as 'pretty' might also be 'mine'; his zealous possessiveness spills over into fast, eager wingbeats: further. Faster. Leisath. Mineminemine. And Eila exhales hard, biting at her lip and half-closing her eyes. "I know," and she does, really, she's been through this before, "doesn't change a thing, though. But, um," clouded blue eyes tilt upwards. "Thanks."
K'del lets himself be kissed again, standing stock still as the greenrider has her way with him; well, he's not exactly an unwilling participant, either. As Leisath arcs about, Cadejoth shoots after her as best he can, though it takes him longer to alter his path. His rumble is enthusiastic, outright delighted: so much fun! His rider reaches out to steady Avey, then turns his head, glancing about, and suggests, "Shall we, Avey? Come on, we'll go together." He'll try and drag her, draw her towards the guest weyr. "There's-- there's a bed in there." Hint, hint.
"Stupid brat," Javeri mutters under her breath. She doesn't seem to care where Avey is or who is close to her. This just has to be over so she can get on with her night. Stomp, stomp, stomp she goes until she can disappear into the guest weyr and take up her spot near the entrance to watch the sky. The sky where Chadamalith stops climbing up and gets himself a good view of Leisath, the desired prize for his evening. The rest of the pack he has to watch as well, but now he knows them well enough to be able to calculate when his time will come. Until then he will wait, flying fast and steady, silent but for the beating of large wings in the air.
Sivrenth banks downward as soon as he sees Leisath begin to descend, the angle of his arc much sharper than her own. Going down is much easier than going up, and he plummets quite easily, ending up nearly on level with her but a dragonslength from her underside. Peering up at her, he chances a sudden sweep toward the green, attempting an early capture or collision to slow her down, but all he does is wind up getting in the way of several other suitors. He has to waste valuable time with a backwing to keep from being rammed, but then he continues the chase unphased. To regain the distance he's lost, his wings are all but completely tucked to his sides, so that he can freefall in her direction. Idraila shuffles- a step toward Avey, a few in the direction the others went, a glance upward, another step to Avey- but overall, she moves nowhere.
F'sen collapses into an armchair in the guest room and closes his eyes. A moment later, some nameless brownrider collapses in the chair next to him; F'sen gives him a peek, then flops an arm over his face and covers himself entirely. Peraith is flying fast, flying hard, feeling the wind rip past his body. Joying in the flight, and trying to avoid unfriendly currents while he's at it, he follows in the same arcs Leisath spins through on her way up, though eagerness and impatience causes him to cut through several turns artlessly.
Phara looks around a few times, eyes slowly darkening as she focuses more on Bennath and less on just what's going on around her. She exhales and follows the tide of people moving towards the guest weyr without further objection. Bennath returns Leisath's sound, trumpeting cheerfully back at her. His mind is focused towards admiration of the way she moves, appreciation for her cleverness. The other dragons aren't even a consideration. She is small and fast, she needs someone small and fast to keep up with her, and he's perfect for the job. This is where his mind runs, the images he projects for her, if she'll have them. How perfect he could be, if she'd let him be. These subtle changes in the path she takes don't bother him. They are a matter of adjusting his wings, his body, to smoothly follow the path.
Now with Leisath entirely, Avey lets K'del walk her into the guest weyr with only token resistance. Once inside, she shakes him off and pushes him away, and blindly staggers to the far wall, leaning against it, seeing nothing. Leisath chooses this moment to pull her wings in and drop like a stone, hurtling past the handful of higher up dragons, aiming her body at the knot of them lower down with a taunting cry. At the speed she's going, there's no safe course but for them to scatter out of her way.
Dragon> To Chadamalith, Leisath is drunk with speed and the thrill of flight, and oh-so-confident in her omnipotence. << Can't catch me! Can't catch me! >>
Sivrenth levels out when he reaches the pack again, but it's just then Liesath decides to drop even more sharply. While the others scatter, he simply re-folds his wings the way he did when he was above them all and hurtles through the chaos after her once again, calling out to announce his good luck to the rest. Idraila trails after the greenrider and her chosen bronzerider, blushing as she's the last to enter the designated guest weyr. Most of the seats are taken, and those left open are too near to others who seem averse to company, so she hangs by the door, uncomfortably leaning on the wall nearest the doorway.
Dragon> There's no words in Chadamalith's response. No assurances that he is the one for her and no attempts to woo her. Not with pretty words and fine manners. No, what he does is gather himself and hit her with a burst of citron smelling confidence. Images whirl from his mind to her of how he is the one, the only one, for her. He knows her and she knows him and he picks images from their time growing up together to prove it. She doesn't need an outsider. She needs him. (Chadamalith to Leisath)
"You're welcome," T'rev says, for once without any extra meaning to it, in spite of the rapid rise of libido going on all around. Inside the guest weyr, he takes a breath, casts about for another chair, but there's none left. "Wall?" he suggests quietly to Eila and then, gently disengages his arm with one last look that's starting to lose reassuring as a quality and taking on more of a "hey that's a pretty girl" aspect. Leaning against the wall, he makes another check on Phara, then just sticks hands in pockets, still mostly relaxed though his eyes are going more an more vague. Up above, Mecaith continues to track Leisath loosely, though her dive downward sees him cutting across an angle to stay above her, without however, following her down. It's his gaze that continues to follow along with her, rather than his body. Not yet. Not yet.
Luckily for Chadamalith he doesn't need to scatter. Nor does he dive just yet. It's not time, she's not ready yet. He does sweep himself lower, taking everyone in, taking her in. She'll be waiting for him as he circles in closer, coming in tighter to the rest of the group. Down in the guest weyr Javeri looks up overhead through narrowed eyes like she can see, surely, if she just squints hard enough.
Kelerith's high enough that he's not one of those forced to scramble out of the way; instead, he folds his own wings tight to his squat body and drops fast through the air, bulleting past a handful of larger dragons too slow or cumbersome to manage in time. If he can, he'll shoot past even Leisath, and tuck and roll beneath her in a blatant show of agility; otherwise, his sails flare against the air when he's forced to slow himself, and he barrels to the side to draw even with the front of the pack once again. Eila nods wordlessly, and though she's freed from the bronzerider she trails after him anyway, crossing her arms once more as she props herself nearby, dragon-darkened eyes pinned on Avey, though occasionally drifting over to T'rev.
But /Peraith/ is among the lower tiers of dragons! He bleats a complaint when Leisath goes shooting by, and even though he twists out of her way successfully, he recovers from it looking offended. That darn woman! Pulling his wings into his sides, he lets gravity pull him down through the mess of scattered chasers. Once he's surrounded by more wing space and less insanity, he slaps his wings back out to brake, realign, /plunge/ after the falling green.
Bennath folds his wings and hurtles after Leisath. There is no hesitance in the movement, no pause in his mind. What does he have to lose by dropping after her? He can regain the height certainly, and there is a thrill to this rapid decent. The wind whipping frenzied around his body is joy, the weightlessness this freefall brings. Even if he overshoots her, even if she is out of his reach, there is /this/, and it was worth it. Phara collapses against a wall when she gets in the weyr, eyes closed, breathing a little too heavy. She's with him, and her heart thunders with his haphazard plunge. Her hand drifts to her chest, as if she could reach in and hold onto it to stop its galloping pace.
Inside the Guest Weyr, and finally released, K'del seeks refuge against a different wall than the greenrider, eyes shutting, his palms spread flat upon the stone. Leisath's drop sends Cadejoth shooting after her, but, of course, he's nowhere near as fast as she is - but at least he's not going to get tangled in the mess of it all.
Just as Leisath begins to level off, she becomes conscious of a blue beneath her, and rolls hard to the side, just inches from Kelerith's grasp. She lets out a loud, indignant squawk for the near miss and the way it's unbalanced her; she flounders in the air, tumbling further, and finally managing to right herself. At once she darts upward, instinctively reaching for more height and trying to put distance between herself and Kelerith - but in her inexperience, she's forgotten the others, and has no sense of where they are. Avey echoes Leisath's squawk with an indignant yelp. "Stop that!" she orders everyone and no one, hands up to push them away.
Dragon> To Chadamalith, Leisath teasingly trips around the edges of that familiarity, though when that strange blue impinges on her airspace and sends her tumbling, she suddenly latches on to the familiar with a grip that's startling in its strength. << Chadamalith! >>
Dragon> She needs him and he will be there. Chadamalith's going to get there and protect his clutchsib from the outsiders who have no idea what they are doing. They're going down. Alone. Because she gets more energy, more citron, more images of how wonderful this will be. (Chadamalith to Leisath)
That is what he was waiting for. That moment where she didn't know what to do. This is the time for Chadamalith to make his move. The Istan blue makes his move now. Wings tuck in as he dives down dodging through the mess of chasers. He's been watching them and he knows where they are and that allows him from his height to get to her. Talons extend and he doesn't even try to slow his dive. That will come when she's his. Until then he'll risk life and limb for her. And in the guest weyr Javeri shakes her head and mutters, "Stupid brat," although there's less anger in her tone now and more fondness. Maybe more than fondness, but she will cling to that for now, yes, she will.
Kelerith crows boastfully, twisting mid-air to bring himself about again and arrow upwards as Leisath slips from his clutch; he's undeterred, and if anything, emboldened. The Reachian blue stretches his neck out as far as it can go as cornflower wings lurch through the air, body nimbly ducking and weaving past the larger males to slither close, closer, closest: there! He's there, he's too close to miss, isn't he, and blindly Kelerith fumbles with a great clutching of tail and twining of neck and grasping of talons for whatever he might meet in the air. Eila starts forward just a step, off the wall, one hand held tight to her chest as though to press herself back to the safe place and the other tightening at her side into a fist.
Mecaith has been watching for her to rise up into the air again just as Chadamalith has and this time his move is bolder, wings sweeping wind before him as he slopes downward. Counter to the blue, his is not a dive through others, but more of a stately progression, or would be except that he is actually going quite fast, aiming to reach Leisath before she makes another nimble dart through the pack or freezes up and falls. In the weyr, T'rev's far hand withdraws from his pocket, tenses into a slow-curled fist, then releases. Again. And again. The other lifts to loosen his collar, flap his jacket a little against heat that has more to do with internal fire than Ista's warmth. His gaze flicks up to Eila briefly as she starts forward and he swallows hard, finds another spot for his eyes to rest. There's Avey over there and Phara there and Javeri (nice legs) and finally Idraila, and hey, even the dudes seem to catch his attention before closing eyes seems like a good idea.
Sivrenth emits a squawk not unlike Leisath's, a sudden and stunned sound as the retreating green grows larger instead of smaller for a change. It takes a split second for him to realize what's happening and without any of the hesitation that he's had up until this point, he darts swiftly to the side in an wrenching attempt to catch her. Talons straining, legs reaching, he scrambles for her like a cowboy lunging for a greased pig. Back in the crowded room, Idraila gasps, as if her heart rate just suddenly began to race. Otherwise, she remains quiet and wide-eyed, like a cornered rabbit.
Bennath lets out a triumphant call, his wings suddenly extended once more to catch his headlong dash, slowing it's progress and completing the vertex of his parabolic flight path. He aims not for upward motion as much as a slope, aiming straight for Leisath before she can reorient herself. She is exactly what he wants, and he has only eyes for her. He banks to avoid another suitor coming in too fast, passing neatly closer to his desire. Limbs outstretch eagerly, drawn to possess her as any greedy collector reaching for a rare gem. Phara rolls onto the tips of her toes, body unconciously stretching with Bennath's effort, her lips parting silently as glazed eyes roll towards Avey.
Another blue cuts across Peraith's flight path. He chatters at Chadamalith, unheeded but still offended, and ducks low, embracing an approach that will leave him a good length below Leisath. It's at the last moment that he puts his plan into action, yanking upwards with all the ridiculous momentum gained during his crazy downward plunge.
Cadejoth is too far away, too big to clear the distance, and there are too many smaller dragons in the way, anyway. Leisath may attempt to rise again, but no - there's just no way, not unless they /all/ miss her on her way up. K'del slumps against his wall, glancing desperately at Avey, but without much hope.
Leisath can't get the height she wants, now, not with Kelerith so very, very close, reaching for her now, talons brushing her legs, and Sivrenth coming from the other side, and bronzes lurking further out. She lets out another screech of frustration; she's not READY to be caught yet. Then out of nowhere, there's Chadamalith, safe, familiar. With a desperate beating of wings, and helped along by the wind from Bennath's passing, Leisath reaches out and grabs and is grabbed by Chadamalith.
Phara gulps as she comes to reality, comes crashing to earth much as Bennath does, shooting past the green and hurtling towards the bowl even as Phara escapes with a gasp of relief, hands outstretched blindly, shoving people, catching herself, nearly tripping in her blind flight for freedom.
It's no surprise for Cadejoth, Leisath caught so far below him. Sad - but not surprising. The bronze skirts well away from the happy pair, to circle down towards the ground again, letting out an unhappy howling bleat. K'del straightens, struggling back to his feet properly, and casts once glance towards Avey - is that an apology? regret? disappointment? - before he turns to depart, slinging hands into his pockets. Oh well.
Too little too late and Mecaith turns that path forward into a path away, wings beating faster to get more lift and he angles outward and off into the darkness somewhere unseen. T'rev's breath goes out all at once and his hand slaps lightly against the wall. His head shakes a few times to clear out the buzz and he's looking towards Eila again, checking in on her more than checking her out, though there's an element of that in his gaze as he pushes away from the wall. "C'mon," he tells the Reaches bluerider, offers a hand this time, rather than his arm to head back outside.
Relief rushes out of Idraila in the form of a lengthy sigh, just as Sivrenth expels a long whine of defeat and peels away from the mating pair. Barely has she had time to blink around and regain her bearings before she scampers out the doorway, disappearing quickly into the gathering tropical darkness.
All Peraith's scheming was for nothing: his angle's still wrong, and he goes shooting past Leisath without so much as skimming her wingtip. Crying a complaint, he drops down like a whirligig, working out all his frustration in mindless, hurried spins. F'sen lets out a soft breath as he comes back to his senses, and in his first glance around, his gaze meets that of the brownrider next to him. The two of them get up together and sneak out like thieves, not saying a word to anybody.
Frustration! Kelerith's vexation is heard loud and clear in a throaty bellow, but he peels away from the green using the momentum that brought him down so quickly and the Reachian dragon carries on Pernward; Eila, meanwhile, rubs her forehead with the heel of her hand but looks upward at T'rev, still hazy -- she takes the hand anyway, tugging lightly at it as she does so as though to ground herself /there/ in the present.
Even with his win Chadamalith doesn't say anything. No crooning, no trilling, nothing at all. Just his tail wrapping around Leisath as he grabs her with his talons so gently and spreads his wings to catch the air that will keep them from crashing into the ground. There's going to be no crashing for her. And on the ground comes Javeri away from the entrance at last. Forget the others leaving and forget that she doesn't like Avey. It's Avey she heads for now and she grabs for her to push her towards the bed with a kiss. "Now shut up," she growls before having her way with the greenrider. Regrets will come later for sure, but for now they can be put down.
Avey is vacant-eyed, lost in Leisath, right up until she's face to face with Javeri, and then she blinks, her face showing a hint of confusion, surprise, but mostly overwhelming lust. Now it's Javeri's ears she grabs for an interminable kiss, and she says not a word, not until it's all over. Even then, she doesn't speak, but instead promptly rolls over and goes to sleep.
It's their first win although Chadamalith has been chasing for some time. His first time to be with a green he's chased. Javeri's first time to be in bed with someone she had no plans to do anything with. And for Avey's troubles in being that first time she'll get a few scratches, a bitemark in an inappropriate place, and maybe even a bruise or two. But when it's over and she's out of breath she cannot help but let her lips curve into a satisfied smile. "Told you he wouldn't win," she whispers to the greenrider before sitting up. No sleep for the wicked. Instead she starts looking for what few clothes she came in with. Maybe she wants to sneak out before Avey wakes up.
Avey's hand reaches back and finds empty air, and she fights back from the edge of sleep, opening her eyes and lifting her head and looking around for K'del. Owait. "Huh?" she says blearily. "Whadya say?" Pause. "Where are you going?"
"Leaving," Javeri mumbles as she gets her bikini found. She's quick to get it on having lots of experience at least with dressing in a hurry. And then she's dressed and she looks at Avey. "Didn't say anything at all." Not a word. Man she just wants to escape. Where's her sarong? Must find before she wakes up completely.
"Where's..." Avey begins, and then sits up, pushing at the mess of sheets wound around her. "What the? Wait, so now you're just going to /leave/?" she says with growing indignation. "You let him ruin EVERYTHING and now you're just going to leave. Great. Fine. Whatever." Glare. Grump.
Javeri freezes like maybe if she doesn't move she won't be seen. But it doesn't work because she's been seen. "Ruin? Ruin? What the-" Now it's the bluerider's turn to glare and she turns it full force on Avey in the bed. "Shells, yes, I am leaving. You think I want to be /here/? But don't you /dare/ speak bad of him. Ever."
"/Cadejoth/ was supposed to catch her," Avey informs Javeri scornfully. "We had it all planned out! But you had to butt in. What did I ever do to you anyway? You jump in and ruin it and NOW you treat me like I'm some kind of ... leopard, or something!" She grabs at the sheet, pulling it up to her shoulders, and draws her knees up, hunching over. Belatedly she remembers to narrow her eyes so she looks angry-not-hurt.
"You can't decide who catches," Javeri points out reasonably. "It's not /your/ choice, Avey. It's hers. And she wanted Chadamalith. Shells." Rubbing her face she sits down on the foot of the bed. "I did not jump in. I tried to keep him out of it. And I like you fine, but I don't want to...this." She gestures around, squirming uncomfortably. "Could we maybe talk about this, you know, tomorrow? I don't want-" Sighing she stretches her hand out and does try to touch the other girl's knee. "I have no desire to upset you."
"Ours," Avey corrects Javeri. "We were going to decide together. Did decide. She was - all woven together with Cadejoth, and it was warm and, and we were flying, but then that stupid other-blue got in the way and she got knocked loose from him and... then she grabbed Chadamalith, because he was... safe? Safe." There's a faint, affectionate smile for that. Her eyes are focused and unfocused and focused again, like a brand new weyrling with an uncertain bond. "It was /that/ blue's fault," she declares: there, a third-party target for her ire. "But now you don't want - you're supposed to - you don't want to stay with us? Leisath won't like that. She doesn't want you to go..." Avey's breath comes faster, and she looks confused and upset as she reaches for Javeri's hand. Then there are tears, and that makes her angrier; she scrubs at her face with her other hand and sniffles. "You like us? We didn't do it wrong?" she asks urgently.
"It was no one's fault!" Javeri gets out hotly. "He was the best one there." Eyes narrow and she stops then and takes a deep breath. Someone is not going to lose their temper at least. "Chadamalith knows this sky better than anyone." Best to get lost in pride for her blue. So much safer. But then there's Avey and she's...crying? Shards. She is crying and the bluerider cannot have this. Scooting closer to Avey she puts her arm around the other girl's shoulder. "Avey, it's fine," she tells her softly. "Really. It was...you know." Under her tan she might be blushing. Then she notices a small scratch on the shoulder her hand rests on and she gets even quieter. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry. He's so..." Closing her eyes she takes another deep breath and smiles, a little goofy. "He's happy, Avey. Really. Umm. But he won't...you know, stick around long. Once he's all out of it. At least I don't think so." Against her better judgment or to avoid a temper tantrum she kisses Avey's cheek.
"No," Avey snuffles in answer to the question, and leans into Javeri, wrapping her arms around her. Then her body relaxes; that seems to be the very thing she wanted, to curl around Javeri just the way Leisath is still curled around Chadamalith in whatever spot they found. "We're happy. 'Sgood. It's okay... I mean I don't think it'll matter. We - she forgets pretty quick." She's quiet, then, just holding onto Javeri and taking deep breaths to calm herself and stop crying. Stupid crying.
And he is happy and radiating happy not just to Leisath, but to Javeri who's trying to separate herself from Chadamalith as much as she can and finding it harder than she thought it would be. "Good. We don't want her upset." Which is the only reason why she's not moving and allowing Avey to curl around her. Without thinking about it her hand leaves the shoulder it was on to play with the greenrider's hair. Giving up she tries to get her fellow weyrling to lie back in the bed, moving with her and not trying to get away from her. Teeth find an ear as Javeri whispers, "Ask me to stay and I will. But you owe me for a long night with a sailor I am very fond of." And if Avey asks then Javeri will stay all night and get every missing second's worth of time even if she's not got the experience to do it all properly and all. If she doesn't then the bluerider will leave her there. It's clear enough in her tone.
Avey is happy enough to lie back down, so long as Javeri is as close to her as Chadamalith is to Leisath. "I'm sorry I'm so weird," she babbles. "It's just weird - I didn't think it would be this weird." A pause, and she realizes that could be misinterpreted, so adds hastily, "Not you. Us. Leisath." At the teeth on her ear, she catches her breath, head spinning so that it takes a moment to fully comprehend the offer. "Stay?" she says hopefully. Javeri isn't K'del and Avey is no sailor, but it beats an empty bed for sure.
"Shh," Javeri whispers when Avey starts to babble and she tries to shush her briefly once more with a kiss if not one as intense as that first. "We'll stay," she tells her softly still too much with Chadamalith to figure out herself. Morning should fix that, but it's a long way off. Eventually she lets them both sleep but the sun's sending out little questing tendrils of light by the time that happens and if Avey tries to stay close she won't be pushed away, but Javeri never quite relaxes against the other woman. Too used to sleeping alone.
Avey wakes in the morning sheepishly polite and blessedly sane - no more tantrums, at least; and she does mumble a thanks on parting, even if she doesn't exactly get around to apologizing.
Where: Bowl, sky, guest weyr
When: After sunset on day 5, month 3, turn 19
What: Leisath rises. There's lots of chasing. Chadamalith wins. Poor Veri. Poor Avey. After there is some pouting, an attempt to flee, tears, and then other things until morning.
Leisath dives off her ledge with Avey aboard, and lands lightly outside the corrals, fluttering her wings and offering an enticing croon to the male dragons nearby. Avey slides to the ground, and pats her green gently on the foreleg. She tips her head up to meet Leisath's eyes, and they're in silent communication for a few moments. Then, with a little smirk on her face, Avey reaches up to unfasten Leisath's riding straps.
Eila's back to Ista on another transport trip, but her passengers have long since disappeared into the Weyr with no signs of returning any time soon, and she instead finds herself cajoling Kelerith down from one of his usual scaling exercises, scampering higher and higher with well-placed hooked claws. Up and up he goes, despite Eila's protests of impropriety, and eventually she just sets herself cross-armed against a convenient rock, foot tapping lightly against the ground, and she doesn't even seem to notice Avey's arrival although immediately, intently Kelerith's head swings around to seek out the green and he clings tighter to the cliff wall.
All day Chadamalith has not been noticing Leisath. He's not even looked her way twice whenever their paths crossed while busy doing their own things. Right now he's still not noticing the green who may or may not be extra shiny right now. He's just sprawled in the bowl watching a group of visitors just arrived get themselves off their runners before heading for the corrals. Javeri's nowhere in sight, likely having a late dinner inside.
It's out of the caverns that T'rev comes, just starting to do up his jacket as he walks over towards where Mecaith lingers, watching lights come on around the bowl. Leisath's landing and that croon draw his attention and the bronze sits there for a moment, head tilted in consideration. T'rev just arches both brows and leans in close to the bronze, not too differently from how Avey just did.
Cadejoth's arrival is a hurried one, the bronze popping in to the sky above the weyr, then hurtling down towards a landing in the moments immediately following this. His rider looks less harried, after a glance about the bowl registers - probably? - Leisath; he slings himself down to the ground and pulls off his jacket, murmuring, beneath his breath, "See? Plenty of time. Told you I could finish my bath." His hair is distinctly damp, though drying quickly given the Istan heat.
Across the bowl, Idraila and Sivrenth are making their way in from the beach or the jungles or some other leisure destination, with Idraila dressed casually and carrying her shoes dangling from one hand. Both are making their way slowly, enjoying the cooler evening air, at least until Sivrenth perks his head up, eyes whirling a brighter and swifter color. With an eager jump, her arcs up and over to the corrals, settling in on a low-hanging ledge with just a nervous rustling of wings. He glances around at the gathering dragons, issuing quick but awkward mental greetings all around, though he avoids infringing on Liesath's thoughts in such a way. Idraila trails after her dragon and it's clear when she gets closer that all color has drained from her face. Fingers twist around and around in the hem of her light tunic while she hovers on the edge of the group of riders.
Extra shiny? Hard to say. After all, Leisath is always shiny, especially after she's been freshly oiled, which she looks to have been recently. Avey drops the riding straps in a pile on the ground, and then tugs at her shirt and runs a hand through her hair. "Well," she says, making a little 'do your thing' gesture at Leisath and moving back to lean against the fence, tucking her arms behind the top rail. But Leisath is for the moment making a meal of the attention from those males, rather than the beasts inside the pen. She tilts her head, fixing her eyes first on Mecaith, then Kelerith and Sivrenth, and finally on Chadamalith, who's ignoring her. That's not the reaction she was hoping for. She croons again, this time more insistently, and takes a few steps toward where Chadamalith is to make sure he notices her.
Kelerith is happy to provide where Chadamalith is lacking, if Leisath will accept his attentions: he quickly skitters sidelong against the bowl wall until he's as near as he can be to her without actually coming down, and he even stretches his neck back over his squat body to offer a clipped, high warble. Eila does sit up at this, unfolding her arms and turning to eye first her lifemate, and then, quickly, the green. A short glance skyward, and then back towards the Weyr proper proves it's too late to escape, especially without her passengers, and so the girl presses her lips together and frowns faintly. K'del: she immediately recognizes him, at least, and lifts a hand in greeting with a wry, 'well what do you know' sort of smile.
Running a hand up along Mecaith's neck, T'rev still seems to be lost in conversation with the bronze. Still placid-seeming, though his gaze is drawn to Leisath briefly, Mecaith then drops his head to rest gently against his rider. T'rev takes a deep breath and nods after a moment, moves to start pulling straps off of him. "Okay," he says simply.
Sivrenth ducks his head deferentially to Liesath when she turns her regard on him, providing perhaps an even starker contract to the rude neglect of Chadamalith. Idraila finally approaches the fence around which everyone seems to be congregating, her lips skimming only briefly up into the required smile of greeting. Sobered again, she turns her attention to her shoes and, with nothing else to do, she decides to put them back on her feet again.
Chadamalith is just not the sort to croon out a love song to a green no matter how beautiful she might be. But he watches from where he lounges. And his attention is going to have to do because for him, from someone soliciting his attention, it's the best that will come. And still there's no sign of Javeri.
K'del returns Eila's smile, equally wry, and wanders towards his clutchmate, hands slung into his pockets and entirely too relaxed, really. "Terrible timing," he remarks, though he doesn't sound /too/ upset about it. "But when one's presence is requested..." Trust him. Cadejoth, once free of his rider, lifts back into the air immediately above the ground, so as to cross easily the remaining distance between himself, the other males - and Leisath, of course, who gets a warm, well-pleased rumble of a greeting. His tail twitches; he tilts his head up; he waits.
Avey is tolerant of the show Leisath's putting on, but she doesn't seem entirely comfortable as the center of attention. She doesn't meet the eyes of any of the riders who are circling around, with one exception: when she realizes K'del is here, she shoots a grateful look at him, followed immediately by an anticipatory grin. "Hi, K'del," she calls over, all Leisath's flirtatiousness present in her voice. She beckons him over, while Leisath, unfolds her wings and folds them again, showing off. The green emits a brief hiss of warning for Kelerith: not /too/ close. She curls her tail around her body, then uncurls it again, restless. Intrigued by Sivrenth's deferential nod, Leisath gives him a longer looking-over.
With straps off, T'rev winds the lengths of leather up in a neat coil and tucks them over his shoulder, steps away from Mecaith enough to give him space and ambles into the growing group of riders collecting around Avey. He shoots her a friendly smile and a nod. "Heya, Avey," he greets with typical good humor and spots some more familiar faces in the crowd. "Eila, nice t'see you again. Though I'm guessin' the circumstance could be a titch better," he says with a wry chuckle and slides his hands into his pockets. Patient. They're both patient, him and his bronze.
Kelerith is a-a-a-all the way over here, see? He's scritch-scratching backwards and upwards at that sharp hiss, although for all outward appearances is unperturbed, judging by the way he's perking his head forward, tilting it curiously this way and that, aqua-rimmed eyes whirling a dark yellow-shot green. "Mph," Eila grunts, finally unfolding herself and ambling nearer to the loose grouping of riders, her head ducked and hair trailing in her eyes, though she does look up at T'rev's greeting and flashes a quick smile. "Hi, T'rev. Avey," she nods once in acknowledgement of the greenrider, a bit awkwardly as she scuffs her feet against the turf.
The Istan blue waits, ever patient, ever observant. Eyes that slowly begin to whirl faster not only look at Leisath, but at the other dragons so he can size them up, get their measure, make his determinations. But when that is done his eyes go right back to the green as his wings flutter and his tail twitches once and then twice.
Sivrenth blinks back at Leisath's long look, clearly surprised at being singled out by the green of the hour. His leathery-looking wings seem to shiver with uncertainty, but as if suddenly prompted, he straightens up on his stony spot and makes himself look more statuesque. He emits a noise that sounds almost like a throat-clearing. Idraila, finished adjusting her shoes to within a quarter-inch of perfection, straightens and leans her elbows down onto the fence, tensely waiting there for this whole thing to be over with.
K'del's attention turns towards Avey as she greets him, and he flashes her an encouraging smile, though he takes his time to cross the distance between them. "How're you holding up?" he asks, more serious than her flirtacious greeting probably encourages. His gaze slides from the greenrider to the others - mostly unfamiliar faces - and he just shrugs: well, what can they do? Cadejoth extends his tail, still twitching, wings aflutter: ready.
Avey hears her name and looks around. She recognizes T'rev, but her smile is odd, like she's not quite sure what to make of him. "Hi," she says, and then her eyes flick to Eila when he greets her. "Hey, Eila. Uh. Heh." She laughs awkwardly and grins. Her face lights up as K'del approaches, and she steps away from the fence, trotting forward a couple of paces to meet him - at which point she grabs him by the ears and kisses him hard, holding his head to hers with one hand and wrapping the other arm around him. Almost at the same moment, Leisath screeches a challenge to the males and leaps aloft, just high enough to glide over the fence and into the corrals, where she swiftly strikes down a herdbeast and kills it by seizing its head in her jaws and snapping its neck.
/That/ tilts a lopsided smile onto T'rev's face as Avey uses K'del's ears for jug handles. He does look away though, politely, winks over at Eila and murmurs, sotto voce: "At least she knows who she wants, huh?" then he straightens and folds his arms across his chest, sliding a curious look over at Mecaith who ... hasn't moved. He's watching, hanging back, still with that thoughtful analytical air to him, like he too is taking Leisath's measure in a manner not too dissimilar to Chadamalith.
Now she's moving even if not so far and Chadamalith watches this with so much interest. Another tail twitch as he observes Leisath's kill. Interesting. His neck stretches out all the way as his wings flutter once more and he watches. Then he's still. His tail stops, his wings settle, and his head remains right where it is stretched out like that. He's gone statue and lies there just like that. Waiting.
Eila allows herself one breathless sort of laugh at Avey's unexpected movement, though she averts her gaze from the greenrider and K'del and turns slate eyes on the pen. Kelerith, meanwhile, unfurls his wings with a flash of lavender sails although his tail remains tightly coiled against his body, and with a swift motion he shoves himself from the cliff wall, dropping like a stone before he catches air and skims to the corrals; he doesn't down a beast, however he might startle them, and instead just chirps satisfaction and takes up a post nearby. "At least," Eila agrees faintly, curling her smile upward towards T'rev.
With wide, watching eyes, Idraila follows Avey as she greets that Reachian bronzerider. She stares rudely and blankly throughout the affectionate gesture, but as soon as they break so does her gaze; she continues to study the minute topography of the ground on the other side of the fence, seemingly ignoring the progress of the flight. "Wonder who the favorite is," she mutters with a dryly humorous tone to the wood beneath her arms. Sivrenth startles at that challenging scream of the green's, but it only interrupts his focus for a second. The crouch that he takes on again has a new look of readiness to it. He doesn't pounce on any unsuspecting beast, but leaves them all for Liesath.
Whatever K'del expected, it plainly wasn't this, though he recovers his composure within a moment, going from awkward to participatory, and smooching Avey soundly. Leisath's same-time leap for the feeding grounds sends Cadejoth into a lunging motion that ends a moment later: with none of the other males following her in, he takes a half motion backwards. Well, then. He can wait, too. K'del pulls back, a moment later, noting to Avey, after a half-embarrassed glance around at the other riders, "Not fair to show /too/ much preference, mm, Avey?" Is he sidling away, slightly? Just a step or two? Awkward.
Phara has been here too long, making mischief with old friends. Now on her way home she dogs her way out into the bowl, only to find Bennath watching events too intently. Her mouth twitches down and her pace quickens towards the dragon. Her face is already set, oh, not happy. She talks quickly, quietly to him, but he seems just as stubborn as her. Teeth gritted, resigned, she begins removing his straps quickly even as he tries to lurch forward into the gathering crowd.
From the beach, a blue whirls into the air and careens towards the bowl and another Fortian joins the crowd. Peraith careens into the bowl, skids to a landing, and immediately starts hopping and jostling, ready to take right off again. His rider comes running after on foot, looking flushed and upset; he must have lost the argument about chasing. Not Peraith's problem.
Leisath, fortunately for her very distracted rider, seems not to be tempted by her kill's flesh. She opens its throat and bloods greedily, then raises her reddened muzzle, staring at the motionless males outside the pen. Well, except for Cadejoth, who gets a small, sweet little croon. Then, abruptly, she springs into the air, tail whipping behind her as she takes advantage of the stiff ocean breeze to boost her aloft, and quickly. Avey blinks at K'del, stumbling for balance when he pulls back; she hadn't expected that. And she's miffed by it. "There's no 'fair' in flights!" she declares, her voice pitched rather higher than usual. With one hand she reaches out, grasping for his wrist in a proprietary gesture.
"He chased before?" T'rev inquires in that same undertone of Eila, seemingly quite calm and unaffected himself. For now. Casually conversational he is, though there's a flick of his eyes back over towards Mecaith whose eyes are just barely now taking on a hint of violet, the bronze dragon's gaze fixed on Leisath and how she wings across the corral, how she takes that beast down. Perhaps he's calculating angles and possible ascents. Idraila's mutter draws the Fortian's attention to her next and his grin grows wider for just a moment. Deep breath in, deep breath out and the bronzerider's eyes roam the circumference of the bowl as if seeking out the guest weyr and fixing its location in his mind once again. Leisath's sudden lift-off brings T'rev's head back around and again he's checking in on Mecaith who ... stays put, watching, watching ... and then finally his wings stretch wide, dark undersides lifting him upward in her wake, though he's one of the last off the ground.
Now Javeri appears. Now when it's too late to keep Chadamalith from doing what he wants to do. Out of breath as she races in from the plateau this flight clearly interrupted her own entertainment as her braids are mussed and she's dragging her sarong on the ground nearly tripping bare feet over it as she tries to adjust her bikini at the same time. "No, no, no, no," she chants as she tries to reach where Chadamalith watches. Mecaith may be one of the last, but the Istan blue makes sure he is the last. He needs to see where the others go and what their plan seems to be. So many unknown dragons he has to watch them all and still focus all his attention on Leisath. Just as he takes off his rider skids to a stop where he just was.
"Yeah, but..." begins K'del, but he seems to register that it's a losing battle, so he simply smiles blandly, turning his hand about so that he can grab hers, instead of being held by the wrist. He squeezes it - and glances upwards. "We should retire to the guest weyr," he says then, with another glance about the assembled riders; sorry, sorry. Cadejoth has recovered by his almost-dive towards the pens, but he's still not one of the first off the ground in pursuit of the green. Still: he's fast, wingbeats instantly pulling him upwards into the unfamiliar thermals.
In anticipation, Kelerith tenses and draws in tighter together -- he's just a huddled mass of squat, cornflower blue for a heartbeat until Leisath takes to the air and his wings snap out and he launches hard upward after her. There's no thoughtful reckoning here, only a manic flurry of energy as he shoots off, leaving hapless Eila behind to rub her cheeks hard with her hands and sigh at T'rev. "Yeah. Not very often, though, and he's never caught. Too --" one hand skitters to her head to flick around in a general motion. "Scattered. Enthused." She's scattered, herself, eyes drifting up after the blue as the girl takes a few dragging steps backward, and notably less enthused.
Phara gets Bennath's straps just in time. No sooner have they fallen away than he's off like a shot. His bright blue hide is unmistakable, even in the gloom. Phara's head turns slowly to look for the green's rider. "I'm starting to think Ista is bad luck," she says grouchily, stomping off towards the group. Her eyebrows lift to recognize some of the riders present. She swallows hard, gravitating towards T'rev. "Which one?" she demands of no one in particular, still looking for the green's rider. Up above, Bennath is swiftly pulling ahead into the front of the pack, trying to cut himself an empty space to be able to maneuver in.
Boing! Peraith goes springing after the green, sending up a shower of sand that had, until now, managed to cling to him. He's not much of a thinker when he chases, and there's not much going on there beyond 'see green, chase green.' F'sen, his rider, is panting when he reaches the knot of waiting riders - and starts blushing when he recognizes T'rev and Phara. Hello, Flint wing. Watch my embarrassment, won't you? He's too much of a stickler, though, not to salute his wingleader and pant out "Sir," before he drops down to hold his knees while he recovers. Maybe.
Sivrenth seems just about to join his peers in the blooding spree, hovering uncertainly on the edge of his perch, almost ready to drop. But it instead of dropping, he reverses the inclination and throws himself skyward instead, joining in on the crack and whip of rushing wings as he begins his chase. Idraila follows the trail of the group of dragons, eyes following waving tails, until it's too far to see any distinction between them. Javeri gets her attention then, distracted though it may be. "I know," is all she offers her fellow weyrling before she visibly swallows and looks at the ground again.
"Hahaha!" Avey laughs as Javeri comes running up, and taunts her, "You really want to, you know you want to!" On realizing that her hand is trapped she narrows her eyes at K'del and snatches her hand free, put out that he isn't doing things the way she wanted. "You're not supposed to say! I get to say. You don't boss me!" she retorts. Clearly, she intends on bossing /him/, and perhaps more, because she's reaching for his ears again. Leisath, meanwhile, is arrowing ever upward, aiming for as much height as she can get as quickly as she can get it. For the time being, she pays no attention to the males pursuing her, only dimly aware of their presence.
T'rev opens his mouth to lend K'del his support, but instead offers Eila his arm politely. "It's just that way," he notes of the guest weyr, apparently intending, of all things, to play /gentleman/ at a flight. Phara's approach though, lifts his gaze for a moment and he shoots her a wry grin. "Avey there, Leisath's," he tells his wingrider. Javeri's mantra-strewn approach amuses briefly, but then the bronzerider seems to be aiming towards starting the progression to the guest weyr, whether Eila takes his arm or not. Even more amusing, up in the sky, could be Mecaith and Chadamalith each trying to find a spot from which they can /watch/ everything and everyone else /including/ Leisath as the dark-winged bronze's flight path steadies out and he starts to adopt the strategy that's been formulating in his mind.
"I don't like children," Javeri snarls at Avey when she heads the greenrider. Oh, she is definitely not happy at all by this. Narrow eyes look at her fellow weyrling and then to her other as she gives Idraila a sympathetic look. "What a waste of a good night," she says before finally looking at everyone else gathered. Mostly she looks at K'del and the way him and Avey seem to be close. "He's never going to win," she says as Chadamalith rises higher to gain altitude on the pack. A good place for him to watch and wait for his time. While the Istan bluerider does not want to be here she's got no choice and points out, "He's too big and he doesn't know the thermals." She does not want to win, but Chadamalith sure does and right now she's turning towards wanting what he wants. Feet stomp towards the guest weyr and she trips about halfway when her blue's head swivels too fast to try to catch Mecaith in view as well and makes her a bit dizzy on the ground.
Kelerith angles to draw abreast of Bennath; he's the smallest blue by far, and only somewhat larger than Leisath herself and as a result he's got speed, though not heft, on his side, so he's jostled by a brown that comes too near and with a great whirling display of teeth and claw he snarls and darts away. Leisath, however, captures his attention wholly, and the brown is quickly forgotten as the blue catches an updraft with his too-long wings and sails higher. On the ground, Eila meanwhile gratefully takes T'rev's arm and leans maybe a little too hard against it, eyes now fixed on the guest weyr -- onward! -- and jaw set firmly. Frustration, maybe. Not likely determination. "Don't wear yourself out again, darling," she murmurs under her breath.
K'del's hands go up in the air as Avey goes for his ears again: resigned. Whatever she wants to do, he'll cope, though it doesn't stop his expression from being caught between amused and embarrassed - and edging increasingly towards lustful. "As you wish," he says, after a swallow, managing a rueful smile. Cadejoth hurtles after Leisath, navigating the skies as best he can for speed, while aiming ever upwards - fast, faster, fastest. Well. As fast, anyway, as his size allows. There are no strategies here: he just /flies/.
Idraila considers Avey warily, but is at the same time inexplicably drawn to her, the angle of her shoulders reorienting to the greenrider and a few steps taken slowly in her direction. She glances the way of those that are meandering toward a guest weyr, but hesitates around the anchor that Avey has become. In the end, she remains in place. Meanwhile, above them all, Sivrenth strains to match Liesath's height. Unlike several of the others, he has no strategy, involves himself in no jockeying. He just follows with a single-minded focus, as he avoids nicking any wings or colliding with any straying talons.
Peraith flies afoul of a bad current that tips one wing upwards, forcing him off balance. Undeterred, the large blue wrenches himself back around and keeps darting towards the green, though he's now lagging unimpressively towards the back of the pack. F'sen lets out one final heave to steady his breath and straightens, tugging his collar. He falls in step behind T'rev, more interested in following him to the guest weyr than he is in lingering behind with Avey herself.
Phara looks slightly ill when she follows T'rev's gaze to the istan greenrider. "/Really/ bad luck," Phara mutters, disgruntled now. "And this was such a nice day, too." She sighs and her eyebrows lift at the hold this Avey has on ... K'del? "Ugh, is /everyone/ here?" Oh well. At least she might get some fun out of this after all, if Bennath doesn't win. Bennath tips his wings, gaining air effortlessly. He may not be as intimate with Ista as he is with Fort, but his rider and he are frequent visitors and he knows /flying/. He gains, gains, dizzying heights, Leisath's pretty apple hide in his sights. He will make her she see how their colors compliment each other. How nicely they could fly, the two of them, together.
"Shut up! Liar, liar, pants on fire!" Avey bellows in Javeri's general direction, and then kisses K'del again, holding on tight to him; she has no intention of letting him escape and ignores the rest of the riders wandering toward the guest weyr. Leisath decides she's got enough height and peeks over her shoulder, calling out to the males behind her with a playful note in her bugle. She arcs around, still gaining altitude, surveying the lot of them. And as she does, Avey finds herself letting go of K'del, except for hands that grasp vaguely at his arms for balance. Her eyes are far away, her expression bright with the thrill of flight. She looks right through the bronzerider, and Idraila too, without even seeing them.
T'rev smiles down at Eila and reaches across to give her hand a reassuring pat. "It'll be okay," he tells her, still low-voiced and walks onward towards the dark entryway to the guest weyr. There's a sudden scurry of footsteps and someone from the lower caverns hastily flips open a few glows thoughtfully for the incoming riders, before scooting out of the way again, double-time. Phara earns another look and T'rev's one shoulder lifts in a slight shrug. "Good size pack," is his only remark, because he's busily walking. Up above, Mecaith slide-slips through the air, careful not to run afoul of Chadamalith and lifts upwards the better to get a high-level view of the chase. His focus is increasingly on Leisath and how /she/ moves, though the rest are kept careful track of.
<< Pretty pretty pretty pretty, >> What might be first taken for a wordless rush of sheer /sound/ -- bleeps and tones and the crackle of white noise -- finally resolves into a mindless chant broadcast shamelessly for all to hear as Kelerith tucks his body all close, tail coiled tight and his feet bound hard against his body. What might be heard as 'pretty' might also be 'mine'; his zealous possessiveness spills over into fast, eager wingbeats: further. Faster. Leisath. Mineminemine. And Eila exhales hard, biting at her lip and half-closing her eyes. "I know," and she does, really, she's been through this before, "doesn't change a thing, though. But, um," clouded blue eyes tilt upwards. "Thanks."
K'del lets himself be kissed again, standing stock still as the greenrider has her way with him; well, he's not exactly an unwilling participant, either. As Leisath arcs about, Cadejoth shoots after her as best he can, though it takes him longer to alter his path. His rumble is enthusiastic, outright delighted: so much fun! His rider reaches out to steady Avey, then turns his head, glancing about, and suggests, "Shall we, Avey? Come on, we'll go together." He'll try and drag her, draw her towards the guest weyr. "There's-- there's a bed in there." Hint, hint.
"Stupid brat," Javeri mutters under her breath. She doesn't seem to care where Avey is or who is close to her. This just has to be over so she can get on with her night. Stomp, stomp, stomp she goes until she can disappear into the guest weyr and take up her spot near the entrance to watch the sky. The sky where Chadamalith stops climbing up and gets himself a good view of Leisath, the desired prize for his evening. The rest of the pack he has to watch as well, but now he knows them well enough to be able to calculate when his time will come. Until then he will wait, flying fast and steady, silent but for the beating of large wings in the air.
Sivrenth banks downward as soon as he sees Leisath begin to descend, the angle of his arc much sharper than her own. Going down is much easier than going up, and he plummets quite easily, ending up nearly on level with her but a dragonslength from her underside. Peering up at her, he chances a sudden sweep toward the green, attempting an early capture or collision to slow her down, but all he does is wind up getting in the way of several other suitors. He has to waste valuable time with a backwing to keep from being rammed, but then he continues the chase unphased. To regain the distance he's lost, his wings are all but completely tucked to his sides, so that he can freefall in her direction. Idraila shuffles- a step toward Avey, a few in the direction the others went, a glance upward, another step to Avey- but overall, she moves nowhere.
F'sen collapses into an armchair in the guest room and closes his eyes. A moment later, some nameless brownrider collapses in the chair next to him; F'sen gives him a peek, then flops an arm over his face and covers himself entirely. Peraith is flying fast, flying hard, feeling the wind rip past his body. Joying in the flight, and trying to avoid unfriendly currents while he's at it, he follows in the same arcs Leisath spins through on her way up, though eagerness and impatience causes him to cut through several turns artlessly.
Phara looks around a few times, eyes slowly darkening as she focuses more on Bennath and less on just what's going on around her. She exhales and follows the tide of people moving towards the guest weyr without further objection. Bennath returns Leisath's sound, trumpeting cheerfully back at her. His mind is focused towards admiration of the way she moves, appreciation for her cleverness. The other dragons aren't even a consideration. She is small and fast, she needs someone small and fast to keep up with her, and he's perfect for the job. This is where his mind runs, the images he projects for her, if she'll have them. How perfect he could be, if she'd let him be. These subtle changes in the path she takes don't bother him. They are a matter of adjusting his wings, his body, to smoothly follow the path.
Now with Leisath entirely, Avey lets K'del walk her into the guest weyr with only token resistance. Once inside, she shakes him off and pushes him away, and blindly staggers to the far wall, leaning against it, seeing nothing. Leisath chooses this moment to pull her wings in and drop like a stone, hurtling past the handful of higher up dragons, aiming her body at the knot of them lower down with a taunting cry. At the speed she's going, there's no safe course but for them to scatter out of her way.
Dragon> To Chadamalith, Leisath is drunk with speed and the thrill of flight, and oh-so-confident in her omnipotence. << Can't catch me! Can't catch me! >>
Sivrenth levels out when he reaches the pack again, but it's just then Liesath decides to drop even more sharply. While the others scatter, he simply re-folds his wings the way he did when he was above them all and hurtles through the chaos after her once again, calling out to announce his good luck to the rest. Idraila trails after the greenrider and her chosen bronzerider, blushing as she's the last to enter the designated guest weyr. Most of the seats are taken, and those left open are too near to others who seem averse to company, so she hangs by the door, uncomfortably leaning on the wall nearest the doorway.
Dragon> There's no words in Chadamalith's response. No assurances that he is the one for her and no attempts to woo her. Not with pretty words and fine manners. No, what he does is gather himself and hit her with a burst of citron smelling confidence. Images whirl from his mind to her of how he is the one, the only one, for her. He knows her and she knows him and he picks images from their time growing up together to prove it. She doesn't need an outsider. She needs him. (Chadamalith to Leisath)
"You're welcome," T'rev says, for once without any extra meaning to it, in spite of the rapid rise of libido going on all around. Inside the guest weyr, he takes a breath, casts about for another chair, but there's none left. "Wall?" he suggests quietly to Eila and then, gently disengages his arm with one last look that's starting to lose reassuring as a quality and taking on more of a "hey that's a pretty girl" aspect. Leaning against the wall, he makes another check on Phara, then just sticks hands in pockets, still mostly relaxed though his eyes are going more an more vague. Up above, Mecaith continues to track Leisath loosely, though her dive downward sees him cutting across an angle to stay above her, without however, following her down. It's his gaze that continues to follow along with her, rather than his body. Not yet. Not yet.
Luckily for Chadamalith he doesn't need to scatter. Nor does he dive just yet. It's not time, she's not ready yet. He does sweep himself lower, taking everyone in, taking her in. She'll be waiting for him as he circles in closer, coming in tighter to the rest of the group. Down in the guest weyr Javeri looks up overhead through narrowed eyes like she can see, surely, if she just squints hard enough.
Kelerith's high enough that he's not one of those forced to scramble out of the way; instead, he folds his own wings tight to his squat body and drops fast through the air, bulleting past a handful of larger dragons too slow or cumbersome to manage in time. If he can, he'll shoot past even Leisath, and tuck and roll beneath her in a blatant show of agility; otherwise, his sails flare against the air when he's forced to slow himself, and he barrels to the side to draw even with the front of the pack once again. Eila nods wordlessly, and though she's freed from the bronzerider she trails after him anyway, crossing her arms once more as she props herself nearby, dragon-darkened eyes pinned on Avey, though occasionally drifting over to T'rev.
But /Peraith/ is among the lower tiers of dragons! He bleats a complaint when Leisath goes shooting by, and even though he twists out of her way successfully, he recovers from it looking offended. That darn woman! Pulling his wings into his sides, he lets gravity pull him down through the mess of scattered chasers. Once he's surrounded by more wing space and less insanity, he slaps his wings back out to brake, realign, /plunge/ after the falling green.
Bennath folds his wings and hurtles after Leisath. There is no hesitance in the movement, no pause in his mind. What does he have to lose by dropping after her? He can regain the height certainly, and there is a thrill to this rapid decent. The wind whipping frenzied around his body is joy, the weightlessness this freefall brings. Even if he overshoots her, even if she is out of his reach, there is /this/, and it was worth it. Phara collapses against a wall when she gets in the weyr, eyes closed, breathing a little too heavy. She's with him, and her heart thunders with his haphazard plunge. Her hand drifts to her chest, as if she could reach in and hold onto it to stop its galloping pace.
Inside the Guest Weyr, and finally released, K'del seeks refuge against a different wall than the greenrider, eyes shutting, his palms spread flat upon the stone. Leisath's drop sends Cadejoth shooting after her, but, of course, he's nowhere near as fast as she is - but at least he's not going to get tangled in the mess of it all.
Just as Leisath begins to level off, she becomes conscious of a blue beneath her, and rolls hard to the side, just inches from Kelerith's grasp. She lets out a loud, indignant squawk for the near miss and the way it's unbalanced her; she flounders in the air, tumbling further, and finally managing to right herself. At once she darts upward, instinctively reaching for more height and trying to put distance between herself and Kelerith - but in her inexperience, she's forgotten the others, and has no sense of where they are. Avey echoes Leisath's squawk with an indignant yelp. "Stop that!" she orders everyone and no one, hands up to push them away.
Dragon> To Chadamalith, Leisath teasingly trips around the edges of that familiarity, though when that strange blue impinges on her airspace and sends her tumbling, she suddenly latches on to the familiar with a grip that's startling in its strength. << Chadamalith! >>
Dragon> She needs him and he will be there. Chadamalith's going to get there and protect his clutchsib from the outsiders who have no idea what they are doing. They're going down. Alone. Because she gets more energy, more citron, more images of how wonderful this will be. (Chadamalith to Leisath)
That is what he was waiting for. That moment where she didn't know what to do. This is the time for Chadamalith to make his move. The Istan blue makes his move now. Wings tuck in as he dives down dodging through the mess of chasers. He's been watching them and he knows where they are and that allows him from his height to get to her. Talons extend and he doesn't even try to slow his dive. That will come when she's his. Until then he'll risk life and limb for her. And in the guest weyr Javeri shakes her head and mutters, "Stupid brat," although there's less anger in her tone now and more fondness. Maybe more than fondness, but she will cling to that for now, yes, she will.
Kelerith crows boastfully, twisting mid-air to bring himself about again and arrow upwards as Leisath slips from his clutch; he's undeterred, and if anything, emboldened. The Reachian blue stretches his neck out as far as it can go as cornflower wings lurch through the air, body nimbly ducking and weaving past the larger males to slither close, closer, closest: there! He's there, he's too close to miss, isn't he, and blindly Kelerith fumbles with a great clutching of tail and twining of neck and grasping of talons for whatever he might meet in the air. Eila starts forward just a step, off the wall, one hand held tight to her chest as though to press herself back to the safe place and the other tightening at her side into a fist.
Mecaith has been watching for her to rise up into the air again just as Chadamalith has and this time his move is bolder, wings sweeping wind before him as he slopes downward. Counter to the blue, his is not a dive through others, but more of a stately progression, or would be except that he is actually going quite fast, aiming to reach Leisath before she makes another nimble dart through the pack or freezes up and falls. In the weyr, T'rev's far hand withdraws from his pocket, tenses into a slow-curled fist, then releases. Again. And again. The other lifts to loosen his collar, flap his jacket a little against heat that has more to do with internal fire than Ista's warmth. His gaze flicks up to Eila briefly as she starts forward and he swallows hard, finds another spot for his eyes to rest. There's Avey over there and Phara there and Javeri (nice legs) and finally Idraila, and hey, even the dudes seem to catch his attention before closing eyes seems like a good idea.
Sivrenth emits a squawk not unlike Leisath's, a sudden and stunned sound as the retreating green grows larger instead of smaller for a change. It takes a split second for him to realize what's happening and without any of the hesitation that he's had up until this point, he darts swiftly to the side in an wrenching attempt to catch her. Talons straining, legs reaching, he scrambles for her like a cowboy lunging for a greased pig. Back in the crowded room, Idraila gasps, as if her heart rate just suddenly began to race. Otherwise, she remains quiet and wide-eyed, like a cornered rabbit.
Bennath lets out a triumphant call, his wings suddenly extended once more to catch his headlong dash, slowing it's progress and completing the vertex of his parabolic flight path. He aims not for upward motion as much as a slope, aiming straight for Leisath before she can reorient herself. She is exactly what he wants, and he has only eyes for her. He banks to avoid another suitor coming in too fast, passing neatly closer to his desire. Limbs outstretch eagerly, drawn to possess her as any greedy collector reaching for a rare gem. Phara rolls onto the tips of her toes, body unconciously stretching with Bennath's effort, her lips parting silently as glazed eyes roll towards Avey.
Another blue cuts across Peraith's flight path. He chatters at Chadamalith, unheeded but still offended, and ducks low, embracing an approach that will leave him a good length below Leisath. It's at the last moment that he puts his plan into action, yanking upwards with all the ridiculous momentum gained during his crazy downward plunge.
Cadejoth is too far away, too big to clear the distance, and there are too many smaller dragons in the way, anyway. Leisath may attempt to rise again, but no - there's just no way, not unless they /all/ miss her on her way up. K'del slumps against his wall, glancing desperately at Avey, but without much hope.
Leisath can't get the height she wants, now, not with Kelerith so very, very close, reaching for her now, talons brushing her legs, and Sivrenth coming from the other side, and bronzes lurking further out. She lets out another screech of frustration; she's not READY to be caught yet. Then out of nowhere, there's Chadamalith, safe, familiar. With a desperate beating of wings, and helped along by the wind from Bennath's passing, Leisath reaches out and grabs and is grabbed by Chadamalith.
Phara gulps as she comes to reality, comes crashing to earth much as Bennath does, shooting past the green and hurtling towards the bowl even as Phara escapes with a gasp of relief, hands outstretched blindly, shoving people, catching herself, nearly tripping in her blind flight for freedom.
It's no surprise for Cadejoth, Leisath caught so far below him. Sad - but not surprising. The bronze skirts well away from the happy pair, to circle down towards the ground again, letting out an unhappy howling bleat. K'del straightens, struggling back to his feet properly, and casts once glance towards Avey - is that an apology? regret? disappointment? - before he turns to depart, slinging hands into his pockets. Oh well.
Too little too late and Mecaith turns that path forward into a path away, wings beating faster to get more lift and he angles outward and off into the darkness somewhere unseen. T'rev's breath goes out all at once and his hand slaps lightly against the wall. His head shakes a few times to clear out the buzz and he's looking towards Eila again, checking in on her more than checking her out, though there's an element of that in his gaze as he pushes away from the wall. "C'mon," he tells the Reaches bluerider, offers a hand this time, rather than his arm to head back outside.
Relief rushes out of Idraila in the form of a lengthy sigh, just as Sivrenth expels a long whine of defeat and peels away from the mating pair. Barely has she had time to blink around and regain her bearings before she scampers out the doorway, disappearing quickly into the gathering tropical darkness.
All Peraith's scheming was for nothing: his angle's still wrong, and he goes shooting past Leisath without so much as skimming her wingtip. Crying a complaint, he drops down like a whirligig, working out all his frustration in mindless, hurried spins. F'sen lets out a soft breath as he comes back to his senses, and in his first glance around, his gaze meets that of the brownrider next to him. The two of them get up together and sneak out like thieves, not saying a word to anybody.
Frustration! Kelerith's vexation is heard loud and clear in a throaty bellow, but he peels away from the green using the momentum that brought him down so quickly and the Reachian dragon carries on Pernward; Eila, meanwhile, rubs her forehead with the heel of her hand but looks upward at T'rev, still hazy -- she takes the hand anyway, tugging lightly at it as she does so as though to ground herself /there/ in the present.
Even with his win Chadamalith doesn't say anything. No crooning, no trilling, nothing at all. Just his tail wrapping around Leisath as he grabs her with his talons so gently and spreads his wings to catch the air that will keep them from crashing into the ground. There's going to be no crashing for her. And on the ground comes Javeri away from the entrance at last. Forget the others leaving and forget that she doesn't like Avey. It's Avey she heads for now and she grabs for her to push her towards the bed with a kiss. "Now shut up," she growls before having her way with the greenrider. Regrets will come later for sure, but for now they can be put down.
Avey is vacant-eyed, lost in Leisath, right up until she's face to face with Javeri, and then she blinks, her face showing a hint of confusion, surprise, but mostly overwhelming lust. Now it's Javeri's ears she grabs for an interminable kiss, and she says not a word, not until it's all over. Even then, she doesn't speak, but instead promptly rolls over and goes to sleep.
It's their first win although Chadamalith has been chasing for some time. His first time to be with a green he's chased. Javeri's first time to be in bed with someone she had no plans to do anything with. And for Avey's troubles in being that first time she'll get a few scratches, a bitemark in an inappropriate place, and maybe even a bruise or two. But when it's over and she's out of breath she cannot help but let her lips curve into a satisfied smile. "Told you he wouldn't win," she whispers to the greenrider before sitting up. No sleep for the wicked. Instead she starts looking for what few clothes she came in with. Maybe she wants to sneak out before Avey wakes up.
Avey's hand reaches back and finds empty air, and she fights back from the edge of sleep, opening her eyes and lifting her head and looking around for K'del. Owait. "Huh?" she says blearily. "Whadya say?" Pause. "Where are you going?"
"Leaving," Javeri mumbles as she gets her bikini found. She's quick to get it on having lots of experience at least with dressing in a hurry. And then she's dressed and she looks at Avey. "Didn't say anything at all." Not a word. Man she just wants to escape. Where's her sarong? Must find before she wakes up completely.
"Where's..." Avey begins, and then sits up, pushing at the mess of sheets wound around her. "What the? Wait, so now you're just going to /leave/?" she says with growing indignation. "You let him ruin EVERYTHING and now you're just going to leave. Great. Fine. Whatever." Glare. Grump.
Javeri freezes like maybe if she doesn't move she won't be seen. But it doesn't work because she's been seen. "Ruin? Ruin? What the-" Now it's the bluerider's turn to glare and she turns it full force on Avey in the bed. "Shells, yes, I am leaving. You think I want to be /here/? But don't you /dare/ speak bad of him. Ever."
"/Cadejoth/ was supposed to catch her," Avey informs Javeri scornfully. "We had it all planned out! But you had to butt in. What did I ever do to you anyway? You jump in and ruin it and NOW you treat me like I'm some kind of ... leopard, or something!" She grabs at the sheet, pulling it up to her shoulders, and draws her knees up, hunching over. Belatedly she remembers to narrow her eyes so she looks angry-not-hurt.
"You can't decide who catches," Javeri points out reasonably. "It's not /your/ choice, Avey. It's hers. And she wanted Chadamalith. Shells." Rubbing her face she sits down on the foot of the bed. "I did not jump in. I tried to keep him out of it. And I like you fine, but I don't want to...this." She gestures around, squirming uncomfortably. "Could we maybe talk about this, you know, tomorrow? I don't want-" Sighing she stretches her hand out and does try to touch the other girl's knee. "I have no desire to upset you."
"Ours," Avey corrects Javeri. "We were going to decide together. Did decide. She was - all woven together with Cadejoth, and it was warm and, and we were flying, but then that stupid other-blue got in the way and she got knocked loose from him and... then she grabbed Chadamalith, because he was... safe? Safe." There's a faint, affectionate smile for that. Her eyes are focused and unfocused and focused again, like a brand new weyrling with an uncertain bond. "It was /that/ blue's fault," she declares: there, a third-party target for her ire. "But now you don't want - you're supposed to - you don't want to stay with us? Leisath won't like that. She doesn't want you to go..." Avey's breath comes faster, and she looks confused and upset as she reaches for Javeri's hand. Then there are tears, and that makes her angrier; she scrubs at her face with her other hand and sniffles. "You like us? We didn't do it wrong?" she asks urgently.
"It was no one's fault!" Javeri gets out hotly. "He was the best one there." Eyes narrow and she stops then and takes a deep breath. Someone is not going to lose their temper at least. "Chadamalith knows this sky better than anyone." Best to get lost in pride for her blue. So much safer. But then there's Avey and she's...crying? Shards. She is crying and the bluerider cannot have this. Scooting closer to Avey she puts her arm around the other girl's shoulder. "Avey, it's fine," she tells her softly. "Really. It was...you know." Under her tan she might be blushing. Then she notices a small scratch on the shoulder her hand rests on and she gets even quieter. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry. He's so..." Closing her eyes she takes another deep breath and smiles, a little goofy. "He's happy, Avey. Really. Umm. But he won't...you know, stick around long. Once he's all out of it. At least I don't think so." Against her better judgment or to avoid a temper tantrum she kisses Avey's cheek.
"No," Avey snuffles in answer to the question, and leans into Javeri, wrapping her arms around her. Then her body relaxes; that seems to be the very thing she wanted, to curl around Javeri just the way Leisath is still curled around Chadamalith in whatever spot they found. "We're happy. 'Sgood. It's okay... I mean I don't think it'll matter. We - she forgets pretty quick." She's quiet, then, just holding onto Javeri and taking deep breaths to calm herself and stop crying. Stupid crying.
And he is happy and radiating happy not just to Leisath, but to Javeri who's trying to separate herself from Chadamalith as much as she can and finding it harder than she thought it would be. "Good. We don't want her upset." Which is the only reason why she's not moving and allowing Avey to curl around her. Without thinking about it her hand leaves the shoulder it was on to play with the greenrider's hair. Giving up she tries to get her fellow weyrling to lie back in the bed, moving with her and not trying to get away from her. Teeth find an ear as Javeri whispers, "Ask me to stay and I will. But you owe me for a long night with a sailor I am very fond of." And if Avey asks then Javeri will stay all night and get every missing second's worth of time even if she's not got the experience to do it all properly and all. If she doesn't then the bluerider will leave her there. It's clear enough in her tone.
Avey is happy enough to lie back down, so long as Javeri is as close to her as Chadamalith is to Leisath. "I'm sorry I'm so weird," she babbles. "It's just weird - I didn't think it would be this weird." A pause, and she realizes that could be misinterpreted, so adds hastily, "Not you. Us. Leisath." At the teeth on her ear, she catches her breath, head spinning so that it takes a moment to fully comprehend the offer. "Stay?" she says hopefully. Javeri isn't K'del and Avey is no sailor, but it beats an empty bed for sure.
"Shh," Javeri whispers when Avey starts to babble and she tries to shush her briefly once more with a kiss if not one as intense as that first. "We'll stay," she tells her softly still too much with Chadamalith to figure out herself. Morning should fix that, but it's a long way off. Eventually she lets them both sleep but the sun's sending out little questing tendrils of light by the time that happens and if Avey tries to stay close she won't be pushed away, but Javeri never quite relaxes against the other woman. Too used to sleeping alone.
Avey wakes in the morning sheepishly polite and blessedly sane - no more tantrums, at least; and she does mumble a thanks on parting, even if she doesn't exactly get around to apologizing.