Veni, vidi, vici (Niki's Flight)

The first roar rose Physisk from his couch and he grunted knowingly. A female. A beautiful female, by the sound of it. She was rising. Despite the fact he and his handler had only been asleep for a few candlemarks, the blue dragged his tired and scarred body to the door and began to beat his head against it. Physisk hear. Physisk know. Physisk go. Go chase pretty wher! When his half-hearted attempts didn't work he backed himself up and shook himself awake. He eyed the door, his target, in his sights and he crouched and rolled his shoulder in preparation for the attack. One... Two... Well, Physisk didn't know what came after two...

The sky blue wher used all his force to crash into the door, jostling it enough so that the latch fell open. Without a second thought he scratched at the side of the frame and pulled the door open, then took off down the corridor.

Physicero awoke with a start and blinked the sleep out of his eyes just in time to see a patchy blue tail slip out the door. "Shardit! Physisk!" He hopped to his feet, still in his trousers from the night before, and slammed some shoes on before he went traipsing out the door after the rogue beast, snatching a shirt from his chest along the way

Physisk here! Physisk Chase! Beautiful, Physisk say! Not afraid, will chase always! Physisk bugled as he stampeded down the corridors, trying to make sure that she could hear him coming. He didn't want her to leave without him! He was fast, for sure, but she was a very large wher! She could probably outrun him if he gave her enough of a lead. But she would not have a lead! He would catch her! The blue dodged humans in the hallway, bumping into some and knocking them off their feet on his blind tirade. The lights of the glows hardly fazed him. He just kept running and running and running until he finally approached a wall.

Physisk screeched as he made it to the entrance to the tunnels, flipping over backwards and scratching with his paws at his face. He cowered next to the side of the corridor, rubbing his face against the cold stone as he tried to figure out what was going on. Oh well. It didn't matter. He had to chase! It was his duty! He had to catch her so that she would know that he, the great and wonderful Physisk, loved her! With a growl he clenched his eyes closed and ran out blind into the sunlight. Physisk chase through wall! Physisk will hunt and chase without eyes! Physisk STRONG! He roared again, trying his best to ignore the sunlight still beaming like green through his eyelids. His memory of patrolling the bowl from the night before still fresh, he moved from his mental image of it as well as with the call of Nikianeth pulling him forward.

He got fairly close to her before she took off, but by then the chase was over. Physisk just didn't realize it yet. He cried pitifully, trying to use his stunted wings to take off and fly after her. However, being a wher, he could barely get a glide in. He kept hopping, long after he could no longer feel the affects of the Flight or hear the sound of the dragons' bugles, and never quit trying to chase after them. Not until Physicero caught up with him did he collapse into a heap of painful despair.

"Physisk! Are you okay?' Physicero took his tunic and wrapped it around the blue's face and eyes to help block out the light. Physisk whimpered in reply.

Wall hurt. Bright hurt. Went through it anyway. Physisk want Chase! He leaned in to his handler, who wrapped his arms around the great brute and hugged his head to his bare chest and stomach.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Dragons are NOT for chasing!" Despite the anger in his tone, there was sorrow there as well. It had been almost a turn since Physisk's run-in with Ausk, but the wounds were still written as scars over the blue's body. Physicero had almost lost him then and he was still scared that even the slightest thing might lead to his wher being taken from him for good.

---

F'ton, meanwhile, was having his own issues with his bonded. He felt Poseith's desire to chase the orange before the iron had even announced it and he couldn't help but feel some despair at the fact he had a chance of ending up in the bed of another woman he'd never talked to before. He didn't like it. Not one bit. It made him so nervous he thought he could die. In fact, he was pretty sure that he would if Faranth ever saw fit to allow Poseith to catch a Queen. He wasn't ready to lead. He wasn't ready for sex. Well... at least not with women he'd never met before!

Is Eriputh here? The ironrider asked, almost pleading for it to be so. If Fahra came then he could just stay and ride out the entire thing with his best friend instead of... well, he'd rather not think of the alternative.

No, Poseith responded in his typical way, leaving no spare words. He was standing now, watching as Nikianeth blooded her kill to prepare for a long Flight. He flexed and stretched his wings in preparation for the Chase to come. He had lost a Copper Flight and it had left him shaken, but he would not lose this one. Nikianeth was calling to him and it was his duty as a strong and capable King to respond to her. She wasn't just practice for a Queen Flight, she was her own entity and he would chase her out of respect for that very fact. F'ton groaned and drudged from where he had been sitting, leaving his recent carving and knife behind.

"Fine. Take me." They were the words of a young man resigned to his fate. There would be no changing Poseith's mind; the King was too steadfast in his resolve. Poseith would chase Nikianeth to the ends of Pern now, should she choose to Fly so far.

No further words were exchanged between the two. There was no need for them. The iron took off as soon as F'ton was positioned snug between his shoulder ridges and flew at a leisurely speed to Armania's weyr. The rider slipped off and landed on the ledge, then the dragon took off to stand in wait for the orange's departure. It was all so routine now, so trying and mind-numbing. Slowly the affects of Poseith's lust filled him and F'ton entered Armania's room with the others. Unlike T'von, F'ton had no kind words for the orangerider. Speaking was too difficult and too awkward right now. Instead, the ironrider moved to the side of the room where L'xon was to lean against the wall and wait out the effects of the Flight.

Poseith watched calmly as Nikianeth took her last kills, his eyes swirling pensively. A purple joined him in his waiting and he made no move to acknowledge. While usually a considerate dragon, Poseith was an entirely different beast when it came to Flights. Flights were a thing of duty. They were part of his job as a King of Dalibor. They were pleasurable, too, but the pleasure lie only in chasing a beautiful lady with the chance of being chosen. There was no pleasure in talking to one's rivals. There was nothing to be accomplished by it. So he waited, patiently, and prepared himself for the long Flight ahead. When she moved, he would be ready.

Nikianeth ascended and the iron followed close behind.

His rivals called and chanted at their orange lady, and Poseith heard each one in turn. The purple and the blue were eager and younger than himself, quick in their attempts to please. They called as if they were following a green or a pink, all words and no action. HisF'ton had long taught him the meaning of action and how it was important in any endeavor. Action, not words, was what had won him his first Flight. This knowledge kept him from reaching out for her telepathically, then, and instead drove him to bugle with his physical voice. It was loud enough to let her know he was there, but not imposing enough to vex or annoy. Ultimately it would be her decision; Poseith wished to please her and rise to her challenged, not to gain her attention with boisterous noise or flattery. That could be the wrong attention, so Poseith had observed.

While he burned up enough energy to keep him in the group during the Flight, the iron conserved energy as well for the long haul. He knew this was something that most blues could not do, being a creature of speed and agility. Yet, he also had a kind mixture of youth and limited experience on his side, which meant that he could be reckless as well as cautious in the right circumstances. This information was not fresh in his mind, however. Only her glowing orange beauty and the flashing of her slender, whip-like tail were visible, giving him tunnel-vision to anything else. He was a King wholly dedicated to chasing his Lady; the other Lords were smaller and he hardly imagined one might attack him. He gave them the benefit of the doubt, for now... so long as they served no danger to his chosen Lady.

They think they are Mine...they have no idea.

Nikianeth crooned to herself, half-snarled under her breath as she watched the wher run out below the dragons. She felt almost bad for the poor creature, and for a moment she hovered above him, an amused chuckle in her voice as she shook her head. Turning to check on her chasers, the orange nodded, spreading her wings out once more and continuing up into the skies. They would follow her, that's what they had all said or implied. She would test just how far they would all go.

Purple, Brown, Blue, Iron, and Yellow. Five possible winners, and few had so far caught her interest. The brown was decent, but he was not the brown she had hoped to see...the one she always hoped to see. Moruluth too was nice, he was familiar and she applauded silently the young prince for acknowledging her challenge. The blue was almost good, but then he had to add on that second message and Nikianeth whipped her head around and bared her fangs, hissing at the male. Careful child do not anger your Queen.

The iron received an approving screech back as the orange felt the his roar send a thrill through her body. The yellow was looked at oddly and got an amused croon. Good, so now my fighters...who will be my champion? She was the Queen leading her fighters into a battle, but against who was yet to be seen. Part of the orange wanted to see them show off and prove themselves to be the best for her and her possible young, the other part of her however wanted them to simply love her and amuse her endlessly. Torn between the two, Nikianeth spiralled around her chasers, darting in and out of the golden clouds as she tried to decide her first challenge.

Impress me....do what you think would make me happy. There that would be good, let them see if they really knew her or not. The orange scanned the distant horizon for any others who would come in late, her eyes glinting red at the thought. She would not tolerate late comers without them paying for it. That was already certain in her mind. Turning her attention back on her chasers she kept looking at one to another while dodging them and the clouds, a playful croon hiding how dangerous she could be at the moment.

Poseith paid no attention to Nikianeth's reprimand of the blue. It was deserved. He had spoken out of turn and had insulted a queen. He paid the blue no mind, though. Halventh was young, vain, and inexperienced. While Poseith really wasn't that much older, he allowed the younger male a pass for his youth. With a rumble he continued on, his pace held steady as he listened to the orange's commands. They were simple commands; while they were strong and imposing in their own right, they were not as frightening as the demands of the Senior Queen. Still, the iron would never decline. He saw Nikianeth for what she was: beautiful, intense, and charming. She wanted him to make her happy? He would make her happier than her wildest dreams

Halventh's new attempts incited no sympathy from Poseith, but they still did not incite his wrath. Halventh was a leaf on the wind, trying hard to catch up although he could never prevail. Blues had no stamina. Only sub-kings and kings could hope to have an equal chance in this Flight. So the iron giant made no moves to change his course as he allowed his great wings to buffet the smaller blue out of the race. The young man was thoroughly improper; it was a proper lesson for him to be taught humility. All strong males needed this lesson--particularly his brother, Zeuth.

The next contestant made a spiral out of the cloud, but Poseith paid it little mind as well. Clouds shifted with the winds. They could not carve their own paths like dragons. One candlemark they were there and the next they were gone. The iron would make no such move as to sculpt something so frivolous. He was a romantic from time to time, but clouds to him represented fickleness. Nikianeth did not need capricious natures. She needed steadfastness and dedication. These things were not found in the silliness of yellows or the fast-paced lives of blues. So he kept going, following after her through the clouds in the same pace he had kept all along.

It seemed the next to take a turn was Moruluth. The purple did acrobatics that were less common to those of his size, but still rather stunning. Acrobatics hardly mattered in a queen flight, though. Queens needed assurance that their children would be strong and healthy. Speed bred speed. Sport bred sport. Endurance, however, would breed endurance and would last through the generations. The brown, it seemed, had decided to do nothing for now. This meant it was now Poseith's turn.

The iron was ahead of the others, having not stopped for trivialities that detracted from the goal of the Flight. His eyes had remained on Nikianeth and on Nikianeth alone. She was worthy of his attention, worthy of his praise. He bugled loudly again, his large lungs supporting the effort it took despite the constancy of speed he had kept. His mind reached out to her and, finally, he spoke, I am not your Fighter, Lady... But I am your King, as you are my Queen.

The words were simple, leaving nothing leftover or spared. His intentions were clear. What would make Nikianeth happy would be to have a steadfast male by her side. She needed a King to stand by her and be her support in her duties as Queen. He was such a King. Poseith had done his duty again and again without faltering. He would serve her finely at her side, much better than these frivolous males that would leave as soon as their capricious hearts led them astray. Of course, when his duties called him elsewhere they would part, but as long as his duties stayed with her he would never leave her in the dark.

So Poseith, the King of the skies and the sea and the land, used this opportunity to take advantage of his lead. He used a little of his stored energy to propel himself forward and turn to his side, leaving himself open to catch Nikianeth should she fall into his claws. Shall we dance? His question was confident, yet he allowed her some space to dismiss him should she choose to avoid him as he tried to lock his talons with hers.

Well, they were interesting to say the least.

Nikianeth found herself watching as first one male then another tried whatever silly trick they could come up with. The clouds were sped toward, her body flashing around and then through the newly made structure, laughing at the ease in which she overtook them. Moruluth's movements were indeed remembered, but she gave a high warble and proved to the young purple that he still had a thing or two to learn before they were perfected. The blue had almost done nothing but fly after her it seemed, and the iron had disappeared for the time being.

Craning her head around to check for the king, Nikianeth snapped the appendage back as the sweeping of wings came from below her. Hissing the orange shook her head, hovering and soaring upward away from the brown. He was playing fancy moves on her as well, now even on his back. It certainly was an interesting little maneuver. The line of thought however was broken as she came against the missing iron, her back hitting his outstretched arms, her body twisting with his by instinct alone. For a moment she fought against the hold that no doubt would take her, and then with a soft croon she simply nodded and nuzzled in against her King's neck.

Yes, you are my King. Let us dance and conquer the skies together now.

On land Armania had been moving back and forth slowly around her weyr, her eyes watching the riders carefully as her dragon sped through the skies above. A soft humming noise escalated from her lips as she was caught, the relief at the flight being almost finished too much for the woman to consider right now. Instead she walked toward F'ton, her hand stretched out to him as she tilted her head slightly, grey eyes studying his form. "Well....I suppose she's made her choice then."