Treetops (Agnith's Flight)

Nelideth was a creature of meticulous, sarcastic attitude and an ego the size of fifty golds and sixty bronzes laid out from nose to tail tip length wise- and what the Blue wanted, he made sharding sure he found a plan and scheme just to his liking enough to put it into place. So, as evening fell and matters began to fall into place, he was rather reminded of his failure to capture the precarious heart of that lovely Queen who had flown. Forbidden from Queen flights by his rider, he'd found quite the enticing little loophole during one of their many conversations that only strengthened their bond with one another- and had more than happily taken advantage of it.

Not only did he get his way in the end, and he'd Chased in true Kingly fashion- not his fault that H'lios hadn't oiled him properly enough to make his hide positively gleam like the King he knew he was- but he had plans to continue getting his way by means of using the same argument against his beloved, if grumpy and unseemly stubborn rider. For every Queen he would chase, or every dangerous Flight for that matter, he would allow himself to consort with those who were technically equals with him.

If one only looked at something as silly as hide, of course.

Naturally, H'lios was determined to see to it that he remained grumpy, ill tempered and utterly isolated save for whenever that positively brilliant mind belonging to Akanith's happened to be involved- and that was always a positively glorious show each and every time, mind you. Thoughtfully rubbing the side of his jaw against a rock, he paused as something flew out, glowing rather prettily. A Pink, no less. If only H'lios were there to see the utterly smug look, one such as never crossed his face before that very moment.

So, H'lios believed him a tale teller, did he? A mere Harper for entertainment?

Unable to resist, Nelideth's wings unfurled, and the large blue launched himself into the chilly winter air. His comment, however, was aimed specifically and only to that beloved rider who's night was going to be a whole lot worse for the amount of wherry he would be eating alongside a healthy helping of his own words. Remember, my dear H'lios, this is what happens when you believe me to be a lowly cheat.[/i] Such a smug tone would be bound for reprocussions later on, but he would take those and then some, for he was right this night, and H'lios was going to just have to deal with it.

And like a flame, you warm the coldest of hearts, my lovely Agnith. Shall we warm one another against the chill of winter, and burn brightly together, unfading, beyond the darkest hour this night?[/i] He called to her, powerful wings beating as he caught a thermal and rode it sharply up, angling himself as best he could to catch up. If she wished to play games, he would play them, he was the King this night, and she would be the Queen.

**

H'lios himself had been enjoying a quiet evening in the Dining Hall, finishing up the remnants of a mid-evening meal at Nelideth's insistance after having been tardy for the usual gathering, hustle and bustle of the Kitchens during the peak dining hours. Not one for socializing, unlike that brown-nosing snake with a silver tongue, he preferred to take his meals privately, and work out new strategies and formations for the Wings, new drills, and seeing what he could, and couldn't do about some of the suggestions, fears, complaints and compliments from the meetings.

There was something brewing in that lizard's brain, he'd been feeling it for the better part of the week, and it had only intensified during the last three days or so. Up to something, he'd known for sure, and that something was going to end up giving him the grandfather of all headaches, he could feel it in his bones. Gathering the utensils and placing them into their proper areas to be collected and washed by the kitchen staff, H'lios decided to go for a second mug of klah, intent upon a late night working out the beginnings of a new formation that might just help them with that sharding wind when it came to combating Thread, assuming he could manage to figure out and work with each wingrider individually and get the best grasp on each rider and dragon's strengths, weaknesses and-

The mug slipped from a suddenly nerveless hand to shatter against the unyielding floor.

Heat swept through his body unannounced, catching him completely off his guard and thus unprepared to handle the sudden intensity of Flightlust from one very smug dragon who was entirely too pleased with himself to be anywhere close to acceptable. Nelideth's taunt echoed like the worst type of mocking laughter in his mind before he withdrew enough to focus on the flight itself, he saw, just for a moment, who it was the blue was chasing, and didn't know whether someone had slipped something into his drink, or if he'd suffered some sort of mental breakdown and was thus about to drive himself Between.

Because, as Thread would fall and Dragons would inevitably fly, Nelideth was chasing a Pink.

I am going to wring your neck and turn you into shoes enough to outfit half of the children's creche in all of Pern. Mark my words, you silver tongued tunnelsnake oil con artist, I will not let this stand unpunished. He seethed, absolutely furious with the dragon for once again deciding matters without consulting him. Clearly, he would have to consult the man people suspected of controlling his dragon enough that he squashed whatever personality might have been there and get some lessons, for this was the last straw and he meant it. Unsteady hands reached up and raked through his hair, touseling the thick, gray streaked black hair more so than usual as eyes very alike the color of his dragon's hide swept the room for an exit that wouldn't put him in the uncomfortable position of propositioning someone.

That would be the absolute last thing he needed.

Growling under his breath, H'lios headed for the exit, fully intent of going outside and then hunkering down in a snowbank somewhere, perhaps long enough to numb his toes and fingers to get himself into a fight with one of the Healers in the Infirmary. There were a few people there, he thought he recognized a sympathy filled face from what he could, barely, recall as the Candidatemaster for the Wher class, one of them anyway. He wondered if a Run was as bad as a Flight, and decided it didn't sharding matter at the time, because he wanted the blasted snow bank.

"Shoes, satchels, Harper cords, poorly fitting, badly styled clothing that'll clash with everything," He hissed under his breath as he made it into the tunnel, now out of the dining hall proper- but still a ways to go, and oh, so many opportunities to run into an unsuspecting individual. "throw rug, he'd make a sharding fine throw rug for a Harper, or anyone else who enjoys that blasted blue color, I'll be ecstatic to never see the damn thing again for the rest of my life after this," his mutterings were hoarse, ragged as he snapped and growled to himself.

He was going to kill Nelideth for this.

Barahath lifted his head. Agnith was flying and he could also see a silent tan spot in the sky. Could he get two girls in one go? Abyrath would be so proud if he could. M'dag was safely tucked away at Ka'mond's weyr and Agnith's didn't even want anyone in her weyr, although Barahath couldn't grasp why. But the pink - and the tan! - were still up in the air, and Barahath flew after them like the ladies' dragon that he was.

M'dag groaned. "Ka'mond, I-I'm, Barahath is chasing again. I swear I'll, I'll lock that silly reptile into a tower one of t-these days..."

Getting to Mith wasn't overly hard for the sturdy purple, and he flew a daring loop around her, hoping to catch both girls' eyes. The manouver made snowflakes fly in all directions like confetti, sideways and even upwards. We could be warm all together, for your beauty makes me burn like fire, he announced at both female dragons. He swooped up and rolled around in the air, showing off his best moves. He had two dragonesses to wow, with loving words and daring tricks.

Mith's arrival was incredibly off-putting, so much so his eyes flickered, coloring in confusion before smugness crossed his mind. Well! So she liked what she saw too, hm? She couldn't be greedy, of course, this was Agnith's time in the spotlight, the tan queen's turn would come later. There was plenty of him to go around, of course, and when Mith's time to fly came, he would more than grace her Flight's presence with his honorable self. That purple, pleasant as he would have been in any other circumstance to the other male, was in his way.

And he didn't suffer anyone to get in his way when he was in pursuit of a goal- particularly when one was well within reach. He dipped a wing, dropping down to circle as close as he could, angling it a bit further to send himself into a quick rotation, temporarily leaving him flying upside down in one of the few manuevers H'lios had positively loathed practicing once upon their Weyrlinghood. Trickier than it appeared, he managed to sustain it before doing a bit of what H'lios liked to call a barrel roll back into the proper flight position.

He could do more tricks if he so chose, after all, he and H'lios had practiced such fancy flight manuevers before. His jaws parted, and he sang to her in a voice he'd practiced. It wasn't only his words that were sweet, after all, and he prided himself on being a fine mate for anyone he so chose to Chase.

How nimble and quick you are! Surely you are the fairest thing to grace the skies this turn and those before it![/i] He called out to her again, he was blue, she was pink; a pink dawn almost always shaded to blue- so naturally he was the perfect choice! I am here, my dawn flower![/i]

**

Blood pounding in his ears, and his usually composed face gaining more than a touch of color in the cheeks as he gritted his jaw all the tighter, fighting his dragon despite instinct more than slowly taking over, his mind merging more and more with that of Nelideth's until he knew it would only be a matter of time before they were one and the same. Half-mad thoughts told him that Nelideth intentionally Chased for that exact reason, the other half told him he'd better get that snowbank before he wound up propositioning someone foolish- like one of the Candidatemasters, or a Candidate or Weyr/Wherling of any bloody sort who decided it was in their good nature to check up on him.

And then there was a touch at his elbow, his mind already practically lost to him thanks to that damn dragon- and he'd told that beast why the upside down trick was absolutely pointless ten thousand times already! His sight was divided, one moment in the dim cavern hall, the next in the skies and back again. For an instant, he caught her- small, dark haired in the lighting, concerned face.

She'd have to do, he thought, icy eyes narrowing as he tried to focus on her, in his present state and place rather than elsewhere. She was familiar, in a way, not of his Wing- that was for sure, he knew his Wing well, and given the choice, wouldn't be putting any of them to bed 'lest it complicate matters further. One blurred image sharpened, came into focus; shoulder knots. Mayday Wing by the red and purple colors.

Not a weyrling, wherling or candidate.

"What's needed," he managed from between clenched teeth. "is a hefty enough object to deliver sense into a particularly thick skull." He had a great need for that. H'lios' knuckles whitened, clenched tightly into the fists as they were, and slackened, relaxing a touch or two. Scold her for following a rider in the middle of flight, that's what he should do. He was a Wingsecond, they were Wingsecond.

"Following an unfamiliar man," he ground out hoarsely. "during his dragon's Chase is not considered wise, Wingrider." By Faranth- he sucked in a sharp breath and cursed his dragon once more. "Give me your name," he demanded, his gaze refocusing on her. "I will not have you an anonymous body and face, you are worth more respect than that." A pause, some semblence of clarity back in his mind, a sense of self again. "Should your unfinished question be what I thought it was, I will have no miscommunication or misunderstandings." Far beyond what he was capable of in terms of romanticism, his eyes were nonetheless scouting here and there for a relatively sheltered alcove to duck into, a store room or small cavern hidden enough that it would not be an entirely public spectacle the way it would be if things went any longer than they were. Besides, if he had a name, he would be able to apologize for the lack of decorum later, stiff as the apology would be.

H'lios was going to murder his dragon for all of this.

Mith warbled, high and sweet, when Agnith looped around her, the tan stretching out her nose so the tip of the pink’s tail ghosted over her jaw turning one loop.

She had been tagged; and now Valha was calling her back down, out of the game; it was Agnith’s game, and Mith was not suited to play in the next part. Mith examined this concept for a little while, turning it over and over before finally deciding that it was yes.

A flare of mischief, and a flare of Valha’s presence had her banking to one side and flaring her wings wide open right alongside Barahath to discombobulate him, and then swooping over and folding her wings to drop straight through Nelideth’s flight zone as she dropped towards the ground.

Her duties to make them work to win the tag discharged, Mith floated gently down to settle back down on Delilah’s weyr ledge, chest puffed out in pride. She warbled to herself as she settled, sharing over her memories of the last few minutes with her sister as she primped and puffed, before finally settling.

When Tag-Agnith was done with the game, Mith would be waiting for her, ready with cuddles.