Hidden Treasure {Hen's Flight}

[Kila]

Y’nis sat moodily against the trunk of a tree on one of the Western Ring Islands. He, Yusriyath, and his horrendous crew of firelizards had up and moved a few days before, skipping down the ring of islands until they came to a particularly sunny one. It was small and made up mostly of beach, but there was a very small cluster of trees in the middle. The sand was white and the water was crystal blue. The only unpleasant thing about the scene was the inhabitants.

Hen lay curled up on a lone rock that jutted out of the sand of the island beach. All the other creatures gave her a necessarily wide berth. Yusriyath floated happily in the shallow water, flicking his tail to steer him to and fro as he floated gaily on his back. Cocori and Flit, the Brown and Blue of the trio, were perched at the very top of one of the trees, peering down at her. She shone brilliantly, almost emerald in color on her little stone throne. Y’nis sat sullenly where he did because she had chased him off. His spot was always sprawled out on the sand in the sun. Since his Green flit was proddy on top of being pushy and violent, she had attacked him until he retreated and left her with the whole beach as her own. Each time he tried to crawl into the sun or escape onto Yusriyath she would jump up and scream, scratching and biting and beating her wings until he fled back to the scant cover of the trees. With fresh scratches to prove the attacks, Y’nis was just as proddy and unpleasant as a Weyrwoman with a moody queen.

The rider was pleased beyond measure when Hen began to stir on her own and he felt a small surge of defiance and lust. He did not share a very strong bond with any of his three monstrous little firelizards, but he recognized these feelings as ones she’d had before when she rose. ”Well it’s about time! he grumped from the shade, recoiling when she threw out her wings and hissed at him dangerously. Her claws had been in his flesh enough already today, thank you!

The island had been eerily and unnaturally quiet while Hen was settled, but it now came alive with the usual mad sounds of his half-wild firelizards. Hen dug her foreclaws into the stone, threw back her tiny head and bugled to announce her flight. Flit and Cocori threw themselves into the air and began to fly around her, screaming and diving. She hissed at them defiantly from where she was crouched, eyes whirring a blood red. She didn’t want them, those two wherry-brains who she put up with daily. They were the ones who always left her to chase in flight, but now it was her turn to leave them!

With a forceful flap of her wings, Hen propelled herself into the air and shot up like a streak, climbing greedily until she was high in the air. How wonderful it was to command the sky! From the corner of her eye she could see Flit and Cocori eagerly on her tail. She hissed and shot off again, out over the continent and near Dalibor. She trumpeted as she went, calling any who were brave and strong and noble and foolish enough to try to catch her! She belonged to no one! She denounced her bonded, her livingmates, her family, her home, the tree, the water, the sky! She didn’t want any of it, but she wanted it all. It was just not worthy of her! She bugled again, calling all who dared to follow. She knew that no one deserved her, but she was dying to see them try.

[fidelli]

A'mor was... Sleeping. What else would he be doing in the middle of the day? He was a lazy bum, and proud of it. He was pillowed on Noyth, up on the higher ledges that generally were only used for dragonflight, but the spring sun was so warm that both dragon and rider were taking advantage of it. Around him were his small trio of lizards - Lady, as natural befitting her title of Queen-Bitch, was sunning her obnoxiously bright orange hide right between Noyth's folded wings. Bubbly, the sweet little green, was sprawled off of Her's hip, and Blue Fellis was draped around his neck. But the old saphire Blue was awake, as the scream rent the air. Oh, he was awake, and in a flash he was up and gone.

A'mor slept on, his dream about pretty ladies turning rather interesting.

He flashed above the skies, joining in the chase, calling out his praises to the lovely Green. Much prettier than his sister Bubbly, she was fat - but Hen, Hen was perfect, and the old Blue settled into his rhythm. She was beautiful, she was Queen - and she would pick.

--------

Nim was, as usual, pondering clues. She had no idea what the next one was doing, and Zuchie was gladly helping her rack her brain - so neither noticed when Klepto suddenly whirled into the room. The lusty little fellow LOVED Flights, and had heard the Green - so off he went, explaining in great detail to His and Aren that he would bring back this lovely Green, a Champion!

"Oh, goodie."

She thrust the feelings back behind the nifty barrier that Zuchie helped her hold, and went back to her plans. Pie? Shards, she had no clue.

The Bronze was big, and as he flipped between to the chase, he knew that he outstripped every fellow there. The biggest, the highest ranking, the Bronze was quite sure he would win this chase. After all, look at him! He was this beautiful orange-bronze, and his wings were striking, pale with thin spripes of the color racing across them... What lovely Green wouldn't pick him? He promised her that, in his song, promised her everything she could have with him.

[hatori3070]

He was sleeping lightly, just barely dozing, when he heard a bugle. His head whipped up. The Bronze spread his wings, waiting one moment more for another call. He had to be sure of what he'd heard. Upon hearing another, he shot into the sky and blinked between, joining a growing group of suitors for the radiant Green in front of him. She was no tame creature, she was nearly as wild as he, fierce and beautiful as she arrowed through the sky. He crooned to her, letting her know he was there. Surely she would recognize his worth. He was bigger and stronger than the only other Bronze present, and he was wild like she. He knew what it was like to answer to no one, to command yourself and those beneath you with the strength needed in the wilds. She would understand.

His wings were strong as he followed her wild flight through the sky, beating a steady rhythm. He had flown after Queens, but at this moment none compared to the shining beacon before him. Her hide was radiant and smooth, her muscles rippling. All else lost meaning when she filled his eyes. This was what he was made for, to fly and to chase and to win. But he would not catch her unless she wanted him. She was too perfect to be won in such a way. Taking her by force wouldn't be nearly so satisfying as proving to all here that he was their better, that he was the strongest and the fastest and the most worthy in the skies. He pulled ahead, drawing as close to her as he dared.

His hide was scarred, but those scars were signs of victory and strength. He was every inch the King she was looking for. He merely had to outshine the ones who foolishly believed they could win her. Until he had heard her call, one of them might have been able to. Not now. Now, he was in the skies, he was chasing the magnificent Green through the air, he would outlast them all! Nothing would keep him from her, especially not these pitiful, tame creatures around him. They were unworthy of her, but the sheer number proved how wonderful she was, how even he was just worthy of winning her. He called out to her again, singing his admiration for the wildness that would only frighten those that were not prepared for it. That very wildness was what gave her her beauty, it was the reason he was here. He slowly trailed off his song, but maintained his proximity to the shimmering Green. He didn't want her to forget he was there simply because his song had ended. He wanted her to sense him, to feel the worth emanating from his body. Nothing but total victory would satisfy him, and only she could give it to him.

[Admin]

Fly me to the moon,
Let me play among the stars,
Let me see what spring is like,
On a Jupiter and Mars.

Afzal raised his head, attention perking. He was out on the rim, not watching Osro and not having a place to go since Kalith was lounging over the entirety of their bonded's weyr and would snap at him if he tried to take any space. It was perfect, him being there, for a beautiful green was flying! He hurriedly stood and stretched. He hadn't a moment to lose! His eyes went from a content blue to a fiery mix of subtle red and violent purple. Busy working, under the guardianship of her sleeping dragon, Fajra looked up hurriedly as she caught on about what was happening. She sighed and let it be, used to the fact the young bronze had a love for chasing, but then straightened when she got a flash of what he was feeling as he sized up his interest. A green. A bonded green that wasn't from Dalibor. A renegade's pet? She tilted her head, thinking carefully.

Not caring about what his bonded had to say, Afzal was off, quickly making his way up into the air and across the needed space in the blink of an eye towards the beautiful green. She was so fierce and pretty! He beat his wings in a frenzy, not wanting to be left behind the others he faintly saw already pursued her. He wasn't late. He simply wasn't first. She was strong, for a green, but more than quick enough. He pushed himself forward, though not quite too much at that point. He was always polite, despite how he loved to chase after all the beautifuls. He had such wonderful manners! Despite any lackluster quality of position or such, he did have that, in combination with the fact it wasn't some meekness that he needed to make up for some shortcomings. Oh, he certainly wasn't good enough for her, but he wanted to try! Up and up, he rose.

His arrival in the flight was made wonderfully clear as Kalith tipped back her head and let loose a roar before going back to sleep, which resounded through the air across the space more powerfully than any of the calls of the little firelizards. He ignored the fact that it was because she hated him, that she was going to bite him later, that his bonded was upset that he was chasing. He let out a bugle with the Queen dragon's roar and made sure that the beautiful, renegade green knew that he flew for her. His voice was melodic and resounding, not too loud and certainly unable to compare to how loud the dragon of his bonded could roar. In actual length and height of stature, he was large for a bronze. However, he was not big in design. He was skinny, lanky, and, at four turns, it was simply how he was, not the fact he was young. He had some experience.

Twisting his neck, darting about, he surveyed the others in the flight with half an eye, carefully keeping everything but an inch of attention on the beauty at the front. There was one blue, and three other bronzes. He was just another bronze in the group, though, of course, she deserved no less. However, two of them were wilds. She wasn't a wild. Oh, a rebel, a wondrous symbol of freedom, but she wasn't a wild. Anyway, both of the wilds were arrogant, so assured. One of them was particularly bad. It was how he could tell them apart, that and because of all of their ugly scars. The big bronze wild was nasty and viscous and ugly and his behavior, so confident and pushy, was disrespectful to Hen and atrocious. His mouth opened in a snarl and hiss, a quiet display of aggression. He would fight the bronze if he wanted to fight!

A voice in his head, speaking human tongue but with a vicious authority, told him that he shouldn't. He responded with the roll of emotions, not tarrying, to explain that he was smarter than the stupid bronze, smarter than the two wilds and probably smarter than the other from Dalibor. The voice agreed, but left the warning that he shouldn't clear in his mind as she faded. Fajra shifted her weight at her desk and went back to work; she would let her firelizard try to catch the renegade green, though she doubted it would bring her anything useful. The lanky bronze took the warning to heart, thinking. On and on, Afzal flew for the beautiful green. He left the bronze alone. Strong and quick, he wouldn't try to be best at either. He was going to be smartest. He chose not to act. His wings beat down, over and over again, and on he soared for her.

Fill my heart with song,
And let me sing for ever more,
You are all I long for,
All I worship and adore.

[Kila]

Hen did not look back at her pursuers until Kalith’s roar rocked the air. The sound heralded the arrival of her last suitor. Anyone else was too slow- and she did not want a slow, lazy male. She was not impressed by this entrance, however. Had Kalith been closer and roaring at her then it would have been foolish not to be terrified, but the great Dalibor Queen was too far away for her claws to hurt the little Green that rocketed through the sky. The roar was not attached to whoever this last contender was, and she was interested only in what he could do- not Kalith.

In response to the roar Hen turned about abruptly, screaming at her followers and then diving straight into the midst of them with no warning. He needle-like claws and teeth were bared, but none were stupid enough to stay in her way. She wanted them to scatter like insects; she wanted them to fear her and respect her if they were to still want to follow her. Being among them also let her see who was following. She was a fickle creature, and downright spiteful at time. She was too proud to be caught: she would eventually choose. Her choice might be sporadic, or based on some absurd notion that she held up in her mind. It might be to benefit her in some way, or it might be to spite some other being. Hen was the antithesis of a classy lady.

One, two, three, four Bronzes! All who wanted her! The Green quickly grew very vain. She would gloat about this for as long as her short memory allowed. She could tell from their bodies which two were wild and which two were owned. The two wilds sported scars from their life in the competitive wild and had a tougher appearance. The two bonded Bronzes were sleek and pretty, though not entirely weak because of their lifestyle. Hen was more than used to rough. She liked things rough. It was likely that they would be able to handle her if she graced them with her choice.

On the flipside, and not far behind the lovely Kings, were her idiot companions that also shared a weak bond with Hers. How she loathed them right then. As quick as she had turned on the crowd and dove among them, she darted upward and began a ruthless climb straight upward. She would have turned and struck Flit and Cocori from the sky if they were worth her time, but they were not. They were a blemish on the positive chance the wilds had in winning her flight. There was another bonded follower as well; a Blue. If he could keep up with her devilish pace then he might still be in the running.

But all of this thinking of males was so tedious. She hissed in disguist and pumped her wings ever harder, finally leveling off slightly but still continuing the climb. Only when the air was thin and her head felt dizzy did she straighten out. They now bolted across the continent at an unnecessary altitude. Hen could not keep up this pace for long, but she would not give it up until she could hold it no more. When she fell it would be because she could not possibly go any farther. This was quickly turning into a game of speed and endurance, but could they impress her along the way?

[Admin]

The moonlight through the curtain,
Shows perfectly her silhouette,
We've never met,
But we're in love.

Afzal darted quickly out of the way when she turned her ruthless attention upon them. He was swift, his eyes never leaving her, his lanky body nimbly twisting to avoiding receiving a wink of damage from her claws. While he might not be quite as strong as some to catch a Queen, he was best for any green. A touch of ego flared in him, a small bit of him simply being a King and thinking in such absolutes. He was fast, but with endurance far better than most blues. He was strong, but he was quicker than most bronzes. Oh, couldn't she see! He would fly her best! Still, first, he had to prove himself to her, now didn't he? Because they did not know each other quite yet. So mannerly, so polite, sweetly crooning to her, even as there was a more aggressive manner to the way he beat his wings and swung through the air to escape her basic attacks.

As soon as she was not amongst them again, he hurried to fall back and pursue her. He flew towards the fore, with all of the other Kings. They were his competition, and he would take them down. He would only concede to lose to the other Daliborian. Their fight for the gorgeous green would be honorable. Over and over, he beat his wings and streaked forwards after her through the sky. His home was left behind, all forsaken for her! If she let him, he would eventually return, but he flew for her! He had loyalties, his sensibilities, his morals. Couldn't see see them? Couldn't they see that he might be worthy? He was respectable, and just as capable as all the others. He could pick a fight, but he didn't. It was in the choosing to not that made him special. He strove for her attention, for the possibility of a short time when she wouldn't attack him.

As she began to climb, he followed. Her pace was daunting, challenging, but he rose to it, quite literally, thrusting his body up and up in pursuit. He leveled off slightly when she did, but they were still climbing. He felt a small prickle of tiredness of his wings once or twice. It was just a test, wasn't it? The prickles were just bits of strain that would be well worth it, weren't they? Doubts were pushed aside. He had to fly after, on and on, up and up. He could fly on after her no matter how high she went, how far she went! The beginning signs that he couldn't match her every move were aching on his wings, but he ignored them. He didn't need to match her. He just needed to win her heart and soul and want for the one moment where it would count. He just needed to be there when she fell. That was all that mattered in the end of it.

The air grew thin and cold. It nipped at his wings, but it was not as dangerous as her. His lungs worked to draw in air. His head felt funny, and he was beginning to think it wasn't just her presence doing that to him. However, finally, she was no longer flying up, so he could level off and streak after her, eager not to fall behind. Managing to catch some breath, he let out a croon, still beating his wings with determination, to catch her attention. In the thin air, his voice was cut by whispering winds and a sheer lack of anything within him, but he somehow managed to pull it out so it was louder than all else for a moment. He beat his wings a little harder, a little faster, pressing the boundary, moving up just a little bit closer to her though he couldn't yet attain her. He had to wait. He simply had to keep on trying. He tried to catch his breath, watching her.

I'll make you mine somehow,
Just let me catch my breath,
Before you steal it again,
Steal it again.

[Kila]

Hen let loose a tiny scream of fury that pierced the thin air when she next turned around. What was wrong with all these males following her? Where they had flown with confidence and passion after her before they now lagged and seemed to fly mechanically in her wake. How pathetic! She hissed at them with utter contempt and disgust. It only confirmed how they were inferior- how they did not deserve her. She must have broken them when she dove into their midst. That mere attack had put them off? She meant to weed out and scare off the weak ones, but it was ridiculous to believe that they were all weak. Was there not a few or even one or two who could stand in the face of fury? Or perhaps it was the climb that had beaten them. She had climbed up and up to a dangerous altitude on purpose. If the firelizards in the air weren’t feeling light-headed then something was wrong. It was supposed to be hard to breathe here.

But there were two who were still fighting- who were a cut above the rest. A Brown and a Bronze. Only one Bronze? Shame that the others had turned out to be such wilting flowers. She had expected much more from them. Despite the success of the Brown, Hen found that she loathed him. Their familiarity had bred contempt. She did not want Cocori; she put up with him every day and she was sick of her crass brother. The Bronze, on the other hand, was handsome, shining, and crooned to her through the thin air. It was an easy choice.

Twirling around and diving into them as she had done before, she attacked Cocori, raking him with her claws and shrieking. He was sullen, but smart enough to fall out of the way to avoid any serious harm. He too screamed as he sailed away. That done, Hen spiked upward one last time with a stroke of her wings and fell in front of Afzal, catching his eye as she plummeted down, challenging him to follow one last time and take her. She would not fight him- she had made her choice.

[Admin]

I watch the ships go sailing by,
I play the girl will you play the guy.
And I never thought I'd be the type,
to fall, to fall, to fall, to fall to fall.

Afzal watched her weed out the only other suitor near him, a brown, and then felt triumph flood his body with a renewed energy as she fell in front of him. She had chosen him as her winner! One more time, he beat his wings, feeling light as air in the moment after the beat where he hung high in the air. It felt good to win, to win the beautiful, wild, renegade green who he had flown so hard to try and catch! All tiredness was forgotten, all exhaustion set aside. Since he had won, that would have to wait even longer and none of that mattered. Only Hen mattered, for she was his, in that time. For a moment, he watched her fall, reveling in the simple moment of his victory. Success coursed eagerly through his body.

Then down he surged, after her. He reached her in her dive and he reached out, grasping two of his feet with hers. His wings entangled in hers, and he entwined their tails. Swiftly and deftly, he caught her, drawing on what limited experience he so he could properly ensnare her so they would fall together. Down and down, they fell, until the ground grew closer. He didn't let her go even then, holding on until the last moment. With a bit of a struggle, he pulled his wings free at some point, even as he remained locked with her. They were falling, but he fought against it. Safely, he would carry her away from them, back to his home, to Dalibor for a time if she didn't mind. She could rest there. He could rest there.

Sharply, Fajra sat up again, paying close attention to the dealings of her firelizard again. He had won. Her lanky bronze had won the renegade green. Of all of the wild suitors that must have been chasing her, and the others from Dalibor, and probably one or two from the renegades if she was lucky, her flitter had gone and caught her. She felt a very limited pride for him, halfheartedly happy that he was pleased but mainly bothered and disconcerted. She disliked the renegades in her Weyr. She disliked any influence from them. They tainted things and twisted things. It wasn't about black and white. It was about how much black they made gray and how much white they made gray. She sat back in her chair to think.

To fall, to fall, to fall,
To fall over, fall over, fall overboard, overboard.
Fall overboard just so you can catch me.
You can catch me, you can catch me.