Golden Arrow Across the Sky: Lefayeth's Flight

[B'kay]

Two dark males snarled in surprise when they realized that only a brown, a single brown, had followed!

Syth, in the skies over the harbor, turned and snapped his jaws as Gaelrith appeared in his wake.

B'kay, in the lower caverns, growled deep in his chest, as Kitari glowed before him. She seemed to sprout golden wings, backdropped by a turquoise sea, and he could see the salt wind breeze through her curls.

But insult gave way to fiery desire as the golden dragon rose on the winds, piercing the skies of Pern with her glory.

Syth banked sharply to follow. Though larger than the brown, he was not as bulky as many bronzes, and he knew how to catch a sea-sharp thermal. The wind caught his long, dark wings and he shot forward, Lefayeth's golden brilliance growing closer with every wingstroke.

He bugled his passion, he shouted his adoration, and the wind whipped the sound behind him, tossing it in his wake.

She edged closer, dragonlength by dragonlength. Now he could hear the wind as it whistled around her gilded wings. Now he could smell the crisp, spicy scent of her hide, still tinged with the coppery odor of blood.

Lefayeth, the Glorious! She would be Queen of all Pern, and he would strive till his heart burst to be her Suitor!

[Skye]

Gaelrith ignored Syth's snapping jaws, ignored the dark bronze all together as he winged his way after Lefayeth, giving her his complete attention as she deserved.

He moved gracefully for a brown, catching thermals to aid in his flight so that he wouldn't tire his wings out as he followed the lovely golden star as she barrel rolled farther inland. He whispered his admiration to her.

He was a quiet suitor, much preferring to save his breath for the chase, to whisper his admiration to her in a more intimate manner in her mind as long as she allowed it. He caught another thermal to follow her higher and higher, hoping that with the height that the bronze would soon tire due to his larger size.

Back in the dining cavern A'idin was vaguely aware of the older man, the Weyrlingmaster growling as he looked at Kitari out of his good eye, though that vision was much fogged from sharing vision with Gaelrith right now. He could see the young woman on the sea, the wildness of the sea suited her very well.

[Kitari]

Her wings were canvasses. They caught the light and threw it back in glittering golden patterns. The blue sky above was her backdrop, and the wind whispered her song. Mist from the clouds she passed through beaded on her wings, scattering the light from Rukbat even more elegantly about her form. The wind filled her wings and carried her higher into the blue abyss.

This was what she was born for.

Lefayeth was meant to fly, and fly she did. Her wings barely strained at all as they carried her higher, ever higher, to where the clouds couldn't even reach. A whirling eye glanced backward once again, spotting the bronze and brown who followed. They were still gaining, because she was still climbing, and an ascent could never be as fast as a dive. But that was fine by Lefayeth. She wanted them close enough to taste her in every breath, to tease them with every shift to the side, as if a selection was nearing. She would have her fun with them before she chose.

The males' songs, both in her mind and in the air, were a beckoning call. But they would not tempt her before she was ready. Lefayeth bathed in their admiration, bugling aloud another challenge tinged with appreciation, but she was far from finished. The blood of her feasting pumped through her veins, invigorating the gold such that she thought she could fly forever. Gwynevith was long forgotten, for this was her Flight, and that traitor could not mar it, even in memory.

Kitari-Lefayeth was Queen of the Skies, whether surrounded/chased by half-a-dozen males or only two. She was a spark of fury, a spark of passion, a spark of desire, and she danced with the wind as she'd been born to do.

[B'kay]

Syth no longer cared about the competition, no longer cared about the lack thereof.

There was only Lefayeth.

On all of Pern, there was only Lefayeth!

She danced and sped ahead like a golden shooting star, skimming the breezes, taunting the winds.

His heart raced, his wings pumped harder, the air broke before him like waves ahead of a gale-impelled sail vessel. The storm that powered him was desire, courage, and need!

He continued his song, sharing the force of his adoration, his emotion, his intensity with every breath, with every wingstroke.

The black-bronze muzzle had come up along side the flash of her long, golden tail. He was nearly beside her. The heat from her glowing hide warmed the breezes. The scent of her filled his soul.

There was only Lefayeth!

B'kay was Syth, and he leaned toward Kitari-Lefayeth, breathing in her spicy aroma, feeling the wind that whipped around them. The air was fresh and clean, and smelled of salt and distant shipyards. Rukbat warmed the wind just enough to fill it with living energy. It was a perfect day for Flight!

[Skye]

Gaelrith answered Lefayeth's bugle with one of his own, singing her praises.

He followed her, ignoring the bronze now as he breathed in her spicy scent, a scent that was enough to drive him wild with the desire for her, but he must keep his head about him.

He continued his soft whisperings of admiration and praise. He could feel the mist of the clouds beading on his hide, brushing against him like a caress.

[Kitari]

The petite queen was bold and strong, fiery hot with the lingering taste of herdbeast blood and the desire that surged through her veins, but even she was beginning to tire. The bronze and brown were easily keeping pace with her, even gaining on her, and she could feel one of them coming up along her flanks, close enough that he could almost reach out and catch her. Lefayeth banked sharply away from him, hissing in displeasure. She would not be caught until she was ready!

But that time was definitely drawing near. The air was thin, very thin now, and her wings were beginning to burn with the strain of keeping her aloft. It was time to consider her suitors, and Lefayeth did so with sharp appraisal, whirling eyes flashing as she looked from one to the other. Her tail flicked deviously as she dropped back between the pair, teasing them, before dipping too low for one of them to attempt anything.

A brown was not a bronze, but Lefayeth was impressed nonetheless that he had lasted so long. Gaelrith had Turns of experience, he had the respect of the Weyr as the temporary Weyrlingmaster, and he would not be too small for a gold such as she.

Dark Syth was a storm cloud in the pale sky, his scars from Thread like lightning bolts along his neck. His deceptively quiet manner could not be portrayed as vanity or arrogance; all of his dark confidence was well-deserved. His songs were not boastful, for she knew them to be true. He was strong and utterly loyal, with that soft side that only a few had beared witness to...

And she was one of those few.

The decision was made. In fact, the decision had been made long before this Flight, long before she'd even begun to think in such ways. Though she had been eager to consider and judge all of the males who gave her chase, Lefayeth always knew she would choose Syth.

Her wingbeats slowed, and she slipped sideways towards him, crooning her invitation.

Kitari felt a huge release, as the tension in her limbs gave way to relief, and she nearly slumped down onto the bench beside her. Thank Faranth, thank Faranth for Lefayeth's choice...which surprised the girl, for she'd never really thought about what would happen if it hadn't been B'kay...

[B'kay]

B'kay soared with his dragon, fully aware of Lefayeth ahead and alongside him, his heart pounding with each wingbeat, the scar along his long neck burning in response to the effort.

But there was no tiring. This was Lefayeth. This was Kitari. There could be no tiring.

Far more than dragon-desire drove the dark bronze. Far more than instinct for Pern's survival.

Syth never gave thought to the brown who pulled so strongly up on the other side of the glorious golden tail. He could not, for to doubt may be fatal.

No other could have Lefayeth.

He did not sense the gold dragon tiring, for She was Strength and Wonder, and Perfection in his eyes. Syth had never given thought to her small size, for Lefayeth was all that he could ever desire and more.

When the gold dropped back between them, Syth felt the urge to reach out, to grab her, to claim her.

B'kay leaned toward Kitari, for only She existed in the crowded cavern. He breathed in her scent, and his eyes saw only the glow of wonder about her....

Syth resisted. Never would he force, never would he try to shift the gold's attentions without her will, for she was Lefayeth and she must choose....

And then ... she chose him.

Gently he wrapped around her. Gently, gently they entwined. His dark pinions spread, great power filling them, as he helped to support her. With his touch, he willed his strength to her, for together they had more life-force than Rukbat itself.

Gently, gently -- the two dragons became one.

Gently. For this was more than another Goldflight. This was ... Syth felt, and hoped, and prayed from some deep stirring within his dragon soul ... forever.

B'kay, with dragon-man eyes, saw Kitari's tension relase, felt her heart reach toward him. Gently, gently, he lifted her in his arms to bring her to a place where they could bond ... alone.

Gently ... For this was Kitari.