Prettiest Of Them All! (Pretty`s Flight)

[kia]

"Pretty! Come back!" Lynx`s voice shouted through the Dining Halls as her beloved Pink Fire Lizard took off with her second meatroll on her tiny Clutches.

She is Rising, Mine. Let her do what she wants. Maybe she will Clutch an egg! Gneith said with excitement, not realizing that the Pink Fire Lizard had been close to Rising as she had been earlier.

Lynx could do nothing but watch as the very bright Pink Fire Lizard flew through the sky and onto a small rocky ledge to finish tearing into her meatroll. Pretty had been acting a little testy lately, chirping and screeching loudly. Lynx knew the Fire Lizard was going to Rise soon, but she had not been bothered by the loudness of her pet. Pretty had always been a loud Fire Lizard, wanting to be the center of attention and demanding it! Lynx had even Impressed the little creature the same way. Pretty had Hatched out of her egg and bugled as loudly as she could before attacking Lynx for need of food. Pretty was the exact opposite of her Blue brother, Sweet, who Impressed to R`ish. Lynx had laughed and counted her blessings. Gneith was the same way, wanting to be in the attention previously of the males she had teased and flirted with prior to her Flight. Both dragon and Fire Lizard were so much alike. Gneith had easily liked the Fire Lizard, and Pretty already liked the Dragon. But, ever since graduation and reaching full growth, Lynx could see deifferences in her two friends. This was one of those differences. Gneith had been a graceful dragon when she had Risen. Pretty was turning out to be dangerous as she was starting to Rise.

Pretty landed on her rocky ledge with ease, looking around her to make sure that she would have this ledge to herself. She tore it to shreds, both with her teeth and her little claws. As soon as she finished her last meatroll, she spread her wings into the sky and leaped off. With a loud Ssscccreeeecccchhhh!, she called out to any and all males who were willing to Chase her. Who would not be willing to Chase this beautiful Pink whose name emcompassed what she was. She was Pretty, the prettiest Fire Lizard of them all! She may not be a Queen, but she would be treated like one. What Queen could shine more brightly than her? None! Queens were dull and rusty in color, but she was bright, vivacious, young, and energetic! She would give these males a Flight of their lives if she could and her wings allowed it. She called again as she turned her wings and made a straight dive up into the air and toward the clouds. Greens could not be compared to her. Whites were weaklings compared to her strength. Even that stupid Yellow from the previous Fire Lizard Flight could not match her in anything! She was Pretty of Pern! The prettiest Fire Lizard in all of Pern!

[Lan]

Jazard had been flitting about that day on his own, trying to steal (rather, elicit) random scraps of food from all who would listen and watch his playful antics. He'd do spirals, rolls, and loops through the air... some of which he allowed himself purposely to fall (and some of which weren't so much on purpose). And he'd succeeded. Or at least he'd succeeded as much as a firelizard could hope. He was content... at least that was enough. The purple flit had gotten enough to keep his stomach from growling. The giant pink one would be so pleased with him! She was his favorite large flying things of all, and he did love her dearly. Why, without her, he'd have nowhere warm to sleep!

So when a pink firelizard gave her call for chase, he looked up and remembered his love for the large pink flying thing. Why, this small pink thing was like his large pink thing! Except she was rising... and she could be his if he'd only give chase! His tail twitched anxiously and when she jumped for the heavens he bolted after her. He was not the strongest firelizard, nor was he the fastest, but he was determined! He would catch the pink Pretty! She would be his! And his larger pink counterpart would be all the happier for him!

'Good luck, little one!' Piroeth called from her ledge where, for once, she was sunbathing. Malin even came to the ledge for a moment, alerted of the event by Piroeth, to wave the purple firelizard off before returning to her weyr to search for whatever it was she had returned there for. Jazard chirped happily, and then beat his wings stronger and faster to fly after the pink Pretty. He gave a call for her; he gave a loud and proud bugle that would show her his bravery and his determination. He would catch her, he would! He would catch Pretty and she would be his and her pink hide would blend with his purple hue and they would be a display that would make all the world envious!

[Birdy]

One whirling eye cracked open. Purple wings stretched and claws flexed and suddenly the flit was in the air, darting out the door and leaving a very confused wher candidate in his wake. Asterin blinked, where in the world was that crazy purple going? He’s fallen asleep after oiling and he usually stayed that way while Asterin was cleaning. Weird...

A lovely pink was in the air! He had to catch her. She was just as pretty as he was! Maybe even prettier! And everyone watched the flights! They would get a chance to see him! To see them both! They were both perfect so they deserved to be together right? Right! He flapped his wings, speeding to catch up with her. There was already another purple there but Kire was obviously more handsome, he WAS Kire.

Soon he had caught up with the other purple, and trilled to the lovely pink creature in front of him! She was so beautiful! Even more beautiful than he was! And that was something coming from him!

[Admin]

The feeling that I'm feeling is overwhelming,
And oh, it goes to show,
There's so much to know,
I wrote this for my prettiest friend.

Piteous was no bronze. He wasn't even a purple. He was a simple black, a tiny flitter with a hide only slightly lighter in shade from the more common, monochromatic color of his kind. However, he still threw in his hat, metaphorically, when he saw Pretty rising. He knew her. His bonded often thought of her bonded and sometimes her. He had even known that she was rising a bit in advance. For a flitter, he wasn't stupid. A little dour, yes, a little skittish, sure, but not stupid in any particular respect. He rose from where he perched on the lip of Detritath's sleeping couch when her screech rent the air. At first, he wasn't too quick. He hurried from the weyr, eager to see her as she flashed across his vision, but he didn't strive too hard in the beginning. What if she didn't like him? Oh, she was so pretty, and he was so simple! The sight of her briefly terrified him.

Still young, Piteous had never chased before. Trying to catch her would be his first attempt. Eventually, after the briefest pause, he found his courage again, in some bit of lust, in some bit of genuine hope. He was easily cheered once he found himself. Away he went, beating his wings quicker and quicker, to pursue her up into the sky. He wasn't the most graceful of creatures. In a few more months, he would have filled out his frame, but he was just old enough to chase and he didn't have time to waste. Right then, he was a lanky, rather gawky fellow, not ugly because he had never been ugly but not classically handsome in what ways a firelizard could be handsome. He wasn't an expert flier. He had no grace or elegance to his movements. All he had was a simple proficiency and a youthful strength to his slim, lanky body and long, slender wings.

And, with that simple proficiency and youthful strength, he would chase her! Maybe he'd even win her! The thought was a dim idea to him. He wasn't a very hopeful or joyful creature. It wasn't really his fault. That was how he'd been born, and quiet K'ber and stolid Detritath had done nothing to change him. Still, he pursued her as best he could. He ignored the two purples who also pursued her, keeping them far from his mind. He had eyes only for her, the brilliant pink jewel in the sky above him. Up and up, he flew after her, beating his wings over and over again. Each motion was a strain, right from the start, but a beautiful strain. Well worth it to pursue her dazzling climb. To the clouds and beyond, up where the dragons flew, he would pursue her, for she was Pretty and she was beautiful. Tipping his head, he let out a quiet, warbling bugle.

The moral of the story is boy loves girl,
And so on, but the way it unfolds is yet to be told,
I know that I should be brave,
Even pretty can be seen by the blind.

[kia]

The clouds called to her. Louder than the calls coming from the males that Chased her. But she still turned her head slightly to see who all was chasing her. Two Purples and a Black. Wait! She knew that Black! That was the black bonded to the Rider that hers thought about often enough. She thrilled. Oh, how her Mine would be happy to know that the Black of that Rider was chasing her! But, wait again, this was HER Flight! She gazed at the other two males Chasing her. Purple. Lovely colors, they were. She liked lovely colors. Even the Black was a lovely color. She gave out her call again as she pumped her wings, taking her further and further toward the calls. It was a nice day, not very sunny, not very cloudy, with a nice breeze against her back. She spread her wings and let the rising drift of air carry her upward. Ah, what a nice day during this season. It was still slightly chilling, but that sun on her back made her feel warm. It made her feel alive. It made her want to sing and soar and just keep on flying. She would do that, the latter part. She would keep flying till she was tired.

She straightened out her route, no longer going up, but now going straight, toward the east, toward wherever she felt like going. She took in the sight of the two males once more. Piteous was an interesting Black. He was skittish a good deal of the time, not letting his potential come out. Then there was Kire. He was a vain creature, yet he was calling her prettier than him. Well, of course! After all, why else was her name Pretty? Her Mine did not give her that name for some other reason! She really was the prettiest Fire Lizard in all of Pern. Next was Jazard. He was new on the scene. He was trying to Impress her for some reason. Was he trying to win her for more than just making her a mate? She was unsure. She would keep an eye on him. She would keep and eye on all of them. She would accept no other males in this Flight now. These three were her suitors and she would pick her winner from among them. She flapped her wings again, heading straight, toward the east, toward wherever she wanted to go. The decision was hers. Today was her day!

[Lan]

Jazard beat his wings harder to keep up, to overtake this beautiful Pretty pink that was the current object of his affections. She called again, in a beautiful soprano that made his spine twitch with excitement. How lovely she was! Surely her name was fitting to her beauty! So he flew as well as he knew how. No acrobatics this time. None of his usual flair that was meant to entertain. The purple firelizard flew for a purpose now. He flew strong and swiftly to show her that he was more than just his goofy, two-legged-loving self. He was brave! He was earnest in his attempts to win her, not lagging behind or giving up easily. In response to her call he once again bugled out his own, one more playful and full of excitement than his last. He couldn't help it... this was fun!

She road the winds higher and Jazard spread out his wings to catch the same updraft. The pink turned east, and his medium purple hide could be seen turning toward her. When she leveled out he broke into a magnificent glide only to beat his wings powerfully once again. She flew so brilliantly and fast! He was large, not necessarily considered as agile, but he had long performed tricks throughout all his life. Surely, he considered himself more dexterous than any other purple... and his stamina would outweigh the black's smaller, more fragile frame. So confident Jazard had become now!

As Pretty turned and surveyed them, he fought hard against the immediate impulse to dive for her. No. He would wait. Like his bonded and his large pink Piroeth, he was as clever as he was manipulative. He would wait for her to call him, or he would wait for the opportune moment to take her. The purple flit saw he had been the first to leave the ground, and he had the advantage. But would she choose him? It seemed all up to her now. So he pressed on, he flew on with her delicate pink frame always in his sights, and he waited.

[Reky]

He was late. He knew that. He more than knew it, even. He felt it in his firelizard body. Perhaps, any other male would have held off, then. Ladies didn't appreciate latecomers. He wasn't about to pass up his chance, though. She was beautiful! She was radiant! She was a pink, but she was a queen! He stretched his wings, brimming with excitement and anticipation. Then, late or not, he shot up into the sky after her.

His name was Chicken, but a chicken he was not. He was brave, he was daring, and he was a gentleman, as this flight was proving. A few times, His had considered changing his name to something more suitable, but the name had stuck, and it was kept around mainly for shits and giggles. Chicken wore his name proudly, though. A knight in shining firelizard armour, he strove after Pretty, falling in the mix of her other three suitors.

He called to her, loud and clear and unafraid. He was so confident, it was dancing in his eyes with the purple of lust, and radiating from him in waves. The blue felt the adrenaline coursing through him. He felt... he felt invincible! He was on top of the world, with the prettiest lady ever. Each stroke of his wings was ardent. Each breath he took was filled with love. He'd do anything for her. He'd be so good to her! He would! He was determined to be the best he could be for her. If, of course, she wanted it.

Calling out to her again, singing, he pushed the thoughts of the future from his mind. Right now, all he was going to do was chase her. He'd chase her, and be her knight in blue armour! He swelled with courage and, as he flew, he hoped he wouldn't explode from it.

But wait, that was silly. Of course he wouldn't!

[/blockquote]

[Birdy]

Kire trilled once more to the lovely pink ahead of him. ‘She was so pretty!’ And she looked so pretty against the blue sky. Like a sunset! Yes, he told her that too, she looked like a sunset. ‘They could be sunset together!’ There was purple in a sunset right? Well of course, there had to be! He was beautiful and a sunset was beautiful therefore there had to be purple in a sunset. It was only common sense.

There was one threat to his chances at the lovely Pink. Another purple! If there was purple in sunsets then didn’t that make THAT flit beautiful too? No of course not! He was soo much better than him. Just look at him, he was Kire the handsomest most beautiful male flitter in all of Pern. In all of everything! He would catch her not that second rate purple. He didn’t even think about the Black winning. The other flitter was young and gangly while HE was well built and damn right sexy if flits could be. Well even if flits couldn’t be HE could be. Because he was just that cool.

The new arrival was another flitter with no hope in his mind. He ignored the blue and returned to trilling to the Pink. He caught the updraft to catch up to Jazard making sure not to fall too far behind while caught up in his inner conflicts. He beat his wings to keep up, it didn’t seem like she would stop until she flew out of the air! And of course he would be the one to catch her!

[Admin]

Hear sirens crying,
We called the fire chief,
And all his firemen,
Came to cut the angel free.

His wings ached. Oh, they ached so much. Piteous did his best to ignore the uncomfortable sensation as he darted higher and higher in pursuit of her. He was quick. He was agile and he didn't dare slow as he chased her. It was simple! It was easy! For all the pain, he found the task so wondrous. He'd hurt before in his life. He was in a constant state of mood swings and he was horribly shy. However, for her, oh, for her, he'd do anything! In fact, he almost felt a little angry when a blue dared to show up late. For shame, for shame! It was quite unusual for him. He wasn't often angry. Depressed? Quite a lot. Happy and a little optimistic? Oddly enough, also quite often. Shy as could be? Basically always. Oh, but she made him feel grand! She made him hope! Up and up, he chased her into the sky. Doubt fell away as he pulled himself higher.

When she let out another call, he answered. His voice wasn't particularly musical or loud, but he tried, oh, how he tried. K'ber and Detritath, his bonded and his bonded's iron dragon, weren't the musical or loud sort, and he was worse than them. He couldn't really be blamed for never learning how to be truly brash. As it was, he couldn't match her voice. He didn't see the point in trying. She was the prettiest. Even her voice was far prettier than any other flitter's voice. If he could have, he would have sung her praises until he had no more voice left in his body. Instead, he focused on simply using what breath he could find to continue to chase her. No pretty song would help him if he couldn't even fly her and keep up. He had to focus on quickly beating his wings while ignoring the aching they gave off. They didn't like being overused.

They turned towards the east. Well, she turned to the east and he followed her, not questioning her course in the slightest. He didn't bother to pay attention to the others, not after the late arrival of the blue. He was sure that they were there, all lasting just as long as him. He was sure that some of them were even well ahead of him, closer to her. He longed to be so close to her. He longed to twine his wings with her, but he, above all others, certainly couldn't force her choice. The wind blew against him, so fine, so fresh, almost as beautiful as Pretty. He dug in his wings, catching the draft and twisting it to force him forward. He could fly! He could fly just fine, just far enough! Couldn't she see that he could fly and that he flew for her? He at least wanted her to see. Even if she didn't choose him, she had to see. He trilled airily, calling out to her.

And she will bless them,
They bow their heavy heads,
This is as close to heaven,
That they will ever get.

[kia]

The wind felt good on her wings as she soared through the sky. She enjoyed this feeling, but her wings were starting to hurt. She would not be able to keep this up for very long. Soon she would have to choose one of the males to be her mate in this Flight. Pretty kept flying in the sky, looping in and out of the clouds. She was so very bright and pretty against the clouds. She loved her color. She was definitely the prettiest of all Fire Lizards! She heard the calls of the three males. But there was another call. A fourth one had joined her Flight! He was late! He was a Blue! She did not care about his color! She cared that he had been late to her Flight! Her eyes brimmed with a little red as she quickly turned on her wings and dove straight for Chicken. She screeched loudly as she brought her claws forward. How dare he join and dishonor her! He was late! No male should be late for the prettiest Fire Lizard`s Flight! She screeched as she turned on her wings more, her claws racking against Chicken as she attempted to chase him out of her Flight. But as she did this, she was becoming increasingly tired and her flight pattern was becoming erratic.

As she attempted to fix herself in the air after her attack on Chicken, the wind picked up and it was not helping her tired and aching wings. She chirped against the wind, trying to continue on. Was her Flight coming to an end now? Well, if it was, she was going to make the decision on her own, not let the wind decide for her. She spread her wings out, gliding on the wind, letting it slow her down. She tilted her wings so often, allowing them to move her toward her decision and the winner of her Flight. She passed Jazard first, looking at him, since he had been ahead of the group. But she did not choose him. She had not been sure of him and had been wary of his presence. She chirped to him, though, as if saying saying sorry. But he had not been her decision. Which left Piteous and Kire to choose between. But she knew who she wanted. Tilting her wings, she moved closer to the Lizard of her choice. She first chirped another apology to the other Lizard before turning her head and crooning to her winner. Her winner: Black Piteous.

[Admin]

On my knees,
Oh, I prayed all night,
My chin upon my chest,
I prayed for a light.

Piteous watched with sad horror as Pretty attacked Chicken. She had ever right to do so and the blue deserved it, but that didn't mean that it made him happy. He flicked and twisted his wings to hold himself in the air. After following her through her acrobatics in the sky, he was exhausted. He couldn't last much longer, even as he desperately clung to the thought that he could hold through and try to catch her. Eventually, she turned away from Chicken and he turned too, moving to follow her again. However, she wasn't going anywhere. He stopped again, tilting his head in confusion. He had never been in a flight before and he almost cringed away at first when she started to move through the males once again. However, he quickly realized, by instinct and basic thoughts, that she was simply picking her winner. In the end, she picked him. Wait, him?

Victory was sweet. Truly, it was sweet. There wasn't a more lovely moment that he had ever experienced in his life. Pretty's beautiful croon, directed just as him, made his heart skip a few beats. He fluttered in the air for a moment, beating his wings frantically as he stared at her. Then he twisted and he, as her winner, became swiftly entangled with her, wings locking with wings and tails curving around tails. He fell from the sky with her. Oh, how happy he was! He thought his heart might just burst! He had never quite felt like that before! Lust mingled with unadulterated, innocent, sweet joy. He had caught the prettiest flitter in the sky. He was the luckiest male alive in that moment, tumbling from the air with her, leaving the others who had failed where he had succeeded up in the air. Why, they didn't matter at all! It was just him and Pretty!

We can’t be too sure,
According to the chief,
Why our ropes are too short,
Our ladders won't reach.