Catch me if you can (Finished)

[Ise]

For the past week, Emera had been keeping an eye on her gold fire lizard. While this was her first flitter, she had spent her whole life at the Weyr and had long ago learned the signs of a dragon or fire lizard about to rise. Orlai’s crabby attitude had been the first give away. The fire lizard had been unwilling to do any of the typical work Emera requested of her. One of the younger weyrbrats had tried to give Orlai a little treat and the flitter had spent the ten minutes screeching at the boy and chasing him around the halls.

As the days passed, more and more signs of it came out. The gold was twitchy, always moving and fluttering about. She also managed to eat even more then normal, any morsel of food that wasn’t closely guarded was inhaled by Orlai. And at last, the gold’s hide started to take on more a shine. It still took another two days before Orlai let out the call, challenging the Weyr’s flitters to try and catch her on her first flight.

If only she had done it outside.

No, Orlai would not wait until she was outside to call the males to her. Instead she was in the cavernous Weyrhall. The brown and bronze flitters of the Weyr knew it had been coming. Orlai had been teasing and flirting with them any chance she got. Now she called to them from within the Weyr. The twists and turns of the halls would be just as much of a challenge to them as the open sky would be.

[parallel]

Kialio had known about the pretty gold for a long time now, but it made him more nervous than excited. She flirted with all of the suitable flits the weyr had to offer, but he was far too jittery around her to do more than chirp quietly. Not very manly, not very impressive...

But now, now was the time! She had risen! Chittering wildly to P'lel he began fluttering about his head, unsure of what to do. Revyketh raised his head, slightly confused, What's gotten into her? he asked, still refusing to accept that the bronze was male. P'lel batted the flustered flit away, "Go do something about it then boyo! If Orlai's risen, go chase!" To Rev he sighed, There's a gold flying about and he wants her attention, he's just nervous, that's all.

The young brown snorted, crazy little flit.

Kialio zoomed about the room one last time before blinking out of existence. Once he found her, he began to fly straight after her, instinct taking over, Orlai would be his! She was pretty, he was pretty, they were perfect for eachother! He called out to her, bugling his appreciation, looping in great arcs to show her his flight skills. He would impress her in any way he could now that he was here.

[Ise]

Akroma had been sleeping until Nalaar had started going crazy. The Shield woman opened her eyes and looked over at her brown flitter, taking another second to make sense of the jumble of images he was sending her. Oh, that gold was finally rising. Yawning and turning over again, Akroma waved Nalaar away, giving him permission to go do his thing so long as she was allowed to go back to sleep for a little longer.

The brown flitter went between and popped out in the weyrhall, slightly confused that this was where the gold was but hey, so long as he had the chance to chance after such a pretty thing he was happy! Nalaar trilled and cooed to the gold, doing easy little loops and twists in the air as he tried to show off for her. He would show her that he was much better then those stuffy, shiny bronzes!

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

These two wild ones had been inseparable since birth, having imprinted upon one another -- and the blue being lucky that there was enough food around their nest for his bronze brother to not resort into devouring him. For the past turns they had been together, whether it was foraging, exploring or chasing after greens in flight. The little aqua colored blue was often the winner of them, however, his much smaller frame being far more agile than his bulky shiny brother.

But this time... This call was so different from any they'd heard before.

His bronze brother had been the first to be alerted, and out of habit had already relayed the information to his smaller sibling before going between with a pop! His brother was soon behind him, both popping into the unknown and rather close halls of the Weyr. With fright the little blue chirruped, sporadically flying and almost bumping into a brown flitter close to his left, before the scent of the gold far ahead finally caught the brothers' attention.

A gold? A gold! A gold!!!

It was the bronze brother the one to first trumpet in both excitement and cheer, his muscular and bulky frame easily adapted to give his wings the strength he needed to zoom forth and closer to the radiant golden beauty. He was excited, in pure bliss even, at the chance -- and already the foreign halls were put to the back of his mind as he instead focused on simply showing off as best he could. Twist and turns, twirls and loops, his reddish bronze hide glittering like flames under the spare shine the glow-lights provided in these dark tunnels. He was swamped with scars in numerous places, from tussles with tunnelsnakes (most to defend his younger and devoted blue brother) to spars with wilder flitts during flights in attempts to show his strength.

Oh but he wore them with pride, that he did, each one a reminder of just how awesome he was. Another trumpet, followed by a croon to try and woo the young gold, was released to announce his arrival and to hopefully spook the competition.

This little delicacy, this little morsel would be his and his alone!

Meanwhile in the back his light blue colored brother seemed a bit more flustered. He was compelled to chase -- not only due to the gold's call but also due to the link he shared with his bronze brother. The lust rolling off them both was enough to drive the little blue on this wild chase -- after all, this was no green. It was a gold! Meekly at first he gave a small bulge, but as the waves of emotions kept splashing across his tiny head the blue flitter gained more and more confidence.

His hide wasn't covered with nearly as much scars as his brother, the blue had always been more of a forager than a fighter after all, but even without all the combat experience he was still an adept and agile flier. Loops and barrel rolls were an easy fit for the little blue... Though his much smaller size compared to the bronzes and browns was quickly playing out against him. Already he could start to feel the strain on his wings, and he was barely able to keep up with the brown at his pace. Still, the thrill and the lust combined to give the little guy a boost, and another bulge (this time more louder and secure) was released once more.

He would chase! He would chase until his little wings gave out and he could chase no more!

[Marnark]

It was only severe and strict, lifelong training that had kept Torc at Jarshan's beck and call the whole time Orlai had been proddy. Otherwise he might have been right there with her, doting on her the whole time. For he was a self-respecting Bronze after all ... with a rather high estimation of himself! What Queen wouldn't want him?! He would have licked her, brought her things to eat, complimented her at every turn, in general simply flattered her continuously until she believed every word of it.

Unfortunately ... Jarshan was a rather demanding master. It was difficult to find time to even day dream of these things with all the work she had for him to do. She was a scary human to piss off, he had learned that Turns ago and the memory of it was still bright in his mind ... probably the only reason he didn't flitter away to his Lady Love anyway. For Jarshan was scary to more than just other Humans! Of course he loved Jarshan dearly, but ... whew.

There was no substitute for her.

But when Orlai's call went out? There was nothing that would stop him. The call too strong, his desire too great. He would be there, he would attend to her, he would serve her. He was cooooooommmminnngggg~~~!!!

Uttering a sharp bugle, Torc snapped between to emerge in the hall where she was flying. He was quick to cut through the air, twisting and turning and darting, dodging for position in her wake. Right now, it was a following game. There was no room to even try to catch her ... not that he would do something so soon! That would disgrace her only. No, he was here to honor her!

Crooning and warbling, Torc was still a Shield flitter only in his distinct endurance and agility for a Bronze. All thoughts of his training were dropped in stead for the lovely lady before him!

[Ise]

Orlai looked back at the males that had answered her. Not a bad showing, three bronzes and a brown. And… a blue? She trilled at all the boys as she did a slow dive down, her body twisting as she made a C-like turn to get under them all. She let out a loud bugle before she suddenly took off, done with her slow leisurely flight as she waited for the males to answer her.

The fire lizard was a streak of gold as she dove down, into the unsuspecting flow of people that moved in and out of the Weyrhall. Her long form slipped in between people, causing many of them to jump out of the way. Any of the males who had followed her down would have to dodge and weave between the scattering people to keep up with her, but they would be far more impressive then the ones who choose to stay above the crowd.

Of course the ones that followed her into the crowd would also see when she ducked into one of the side halls sooner then the ones flying above would. This hall had far less people in it, giving the fire lizards more room to fly in. Orlai flew up higher, her wings beating hard as she flew close to the ceiling of the hall, trilling and bugling at the boys to try and catch her. The gold even took a peek back to see who was still following her, wondering if the blue was still silly enough to be chasing her or if he had been lost in the mass of people she had flown through.

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

As the gold turned back with a leisured move and bulged at the males the bronze flitter couldn't help but puff out his chest, letting out a loud bulge of his own -- seasoned by the many turns he had spent in the wild, making sure all around his turf could hear his warning calls at sunrise and sunset. He didn't hesitate twice, his purple whirling eyes completely focused on the body of the much younger female firelizard -- and no sooner her body language betrayed her new direction the wild flitter dove right into the crowd after her, a wing purposely moving to make him pass close to the brown in the flight -- the bronze attempting to smack the much younger male with his tail in a display of superiority, trying to intimidate his younger competition.

They should learn their place when real adults were about, after all.

He was not a shy one, oh no, this big boy commanded respect wherever he went. And as he weaved through the people those few unfortunate ones not able to move out of the way quickly got either a whip from his muscled tail or a nip from sharp fangs -- a poor drudge even had a bit of loose cloth from his sleeve ripped by the 'lizard's claws as he brushed too close for comfort of the poor boy. He made excellent pace keeping up with her, these soft creatures were nothing compare to dodging branches in the flights in the wild -- or avoiding the deadly claws of wild cats that tried to make a meal out of him in the past.

No sooner she slipped into a new hall he followed, trumpeting in success as well to get her attention as he boasted of his strength and intelligence, another soft and alluring croon soon after released to complement the gold about this or that.

Sweet talker that he was too...

---

Meanwhile his blue brother was having less luck, already behind in the flight from the closest male before him by gold's 'lizard length or two. He bulged, though much weaker than any of the males, at her call -- and as she and her brother swooped down into those odd and scary moving creatures bellow the blue couldn't help but give a weak chirp of distress, opting instead to follow from above. Not only was it easier, and he needed to conserve energy, but those hairless things on two legs below honestly scared the green tainted blood out of his body if actually possible.

Still, being last had an advantage -- it meant not getting lost as he followed the gold. As all the males eventually banked into the hallway he too followed, pleased to see it filled with less of those horrifying creatures. He allowed himself the luxury to thrill, chirp and croon a song to the golden firelizard much further ahead -- though the little display certainly came at a price as he could feel his wing muscles aching more and more as the flight continued.

Oh but she was just so pretty... He just had to see this through! Even if he never won, he owed the beautiful gold at least that much to honor her flight!

[parallel]

Kialio trumpeted his response to the beautiful gold as she zoomed ahead of them. He soared high, as high as he could so as to separate himself from the competition. He wanted her to notice him, he was a perfect bronze! Perhaps a little on the small side.. but he was sexy sharditall! He was a fast flier and he was in his prime.

And then she was under them all, taking off in a new direction, must quicker than before. This was where Kialio's size became an advantage. He was able to change direction much more sharply than the others, allowing him to keep focus on the queen, his perfect queen. He dove after her, through the crowd, enjoying his talent at weaving through people. He crooned to her, look how well he preformed! Look how well he flew!

If that blue won he'd be sick, or even that brown! Only a bronze deserved a golden beauty, and not just any bronze, him. He rolled through the air as she turned into a side hall, his head snapping about to see where she'd gone. Up! He beat his wings hard, pushing himself higher. His muscle mass was not as great as the others perhaps, but he was still flying at a steady speed. When she turned back to check on her followers, he sang to her, conveying how magnificent she was.

[Marnark]

Agility was no issue for Torc. Speed was also no issue. Maybe all that incessant training that Jarshan put him through wasn't so bad after all. Flitting this way and that with highly controlled wing flicks, Torc flew in intense silence. Totally focused, not only on the object to be won, but also on how to get there. The competition? They did not exist. Random background noise. Only if they became a real threat would they begin to be noticed, and then only to be categorized and taken down.

No breath was wasted on random noise to be drown out by the people and environment. All energy was spent toward catching up to her. Toward winning the prize. This, she, was his. He knew it in his very heart.

Twisting through the crowds, dipping and rising, turning and twisting as needed, he was very efficient with every slight movement, knowing just exactly how far he could push himself, what his margins of error were, and how every little flick of muscle would impact his flight trajectory and speed.

Deftly he shot around the turn into the hall, past more people, and then up into the airways overhead as she entered the new hall. Still he was silent, still he flew strong straight and true. No fancy flairs to waste energy or space, no frivolous calls to try and add flowers to a lacking performance. No, Torc was all business. This was no game, and there was no second place.

She was beautiful, enticing ... and so very encouraging, so much promise. She called, asking for the best of the best to come to her. He was coming. Surging forward on powerful sails, while the rest dithered and squawked about, Torc moved in. Closer, ever closer, he danced with her, waiting for that one opportune moment when he could swoop in and claim her. Whenever that moment came, he would be there and he would act with no hesitation. Catch her, he would!

[Ise]

The brown Naalar dove down with the shiny gold into the crowd of people. For a moment he held the lead before one of those stupid bronzes cut him off and gave him a whack with his tail. Nalaar let out a screech of anger as he lost time having to quickly dodge people before pulling up out of the crowd. He didn’t want to take the easy way but following from above was safer then getting smacked into a person and stepped on.

Still, the brown complained loudly about the clumsy wild bronze and cooed to the queen that she needed a nice male who could actually fly and wouldn’t send her into walls. Catching just a flash of gold as Orlai went down a hall, Nalaar made a sharp turn and dove down, gaining a little bit of speed before he was forced to pull up to try and follow her near the ceiling. This time the brown kept a close eye on the wild bronze, snapping at the other male any time he came near. If he thought a little aggressive flying was going to scare him, the bronze had another thing coming. Nalaar was a fire lizard of the Dragon Shield and that made him ten times better then even a wild bronze.

---

Orlai was pleased to see that all the males were still with her, even the blue had managed to keep up a little though he was slowly lagging farther and farther behind. And they were all such sweet talkers too. Of course she already knew that she was perfect and was the prettiest flitter in the Weyr so their flattery alone wasn’t going to get them any points. But a few of them had impressed her. Oh she wasn’t ready to give up yet, no she was still full of energy but she was slowly narrowing her choices down.

The gold shot down in a corkscrew dive, pulling out just before she hit the ground and made a series of quick twists and turns darting down one hallway after another. She barely rose off the ground for those first few turns, the rough stone inches from her belly as she taunted and teased the males that followed her. She finally gained altitude as she entered another hall with more people in it. Her tail whacked at anyone too slow to get out of her way as she zig-zagged down the hall.

[♥Rizu-Chan♥]

So the brown thought he had some fight in himself? The bronze couldn't help but let out a thrill of laughter, correcting the much younger flier quickly. He hadn't smacked onto hi due to clumsiness, he had meant it fully. Who did the little shit colored 'lizard think he was, some newborn hatchling to be bumping into walls and stuff? If the brown didn't had the skills to avoid a simple tail half aimed by him then he was clearly not worthy of such a pretty and valuable prize as a gold's first flight.

As Nalaar attempted to keep up with him and the two other bronzes the wild flitter was not shy to give a feral snarl whenever he (or the brown) got to close to one another. The little sharding hatchling would learn his place on way or another, and with a smirk (if 'lizards could smirk of course) and a nice pump of his wings the bronze pulled further ahead and closer to the golden beauty. Oh, he was tempted to try and swoop in, forcefully catch her like he'd done many times before in the wild with greens...

But no, that would be shaming the little queen, and one especially as young and new as this one looked to be deserved only the best flight experience she could ever have.

With him, of course.

A soft croon was let loose, the browns steady voice and rumblings echoing in the narrow stone hallways and creating echoes -- almost a tune. He kept up with her with ease, a flitter length or two behind just to give her the space she would probably desire. And as her wings angled in the fashion of a corkscrew the bronze was soon behind her once more mimicking her movements. Never did his eyes moved away from the queen, always attentive to every little twitch and flick of her radiant golden body to catch where she was headed to next, his many turns in the wild having perfected his ability to read this subtle patterns greatly.

He flew just as low as she did, claws barely avoiding scratching the stony floor surface as he went, while his tail was used for balance and any sharp turn the gold tried to pull -- or that he might need to do to avoid one of those two legged hideous things every now and then. As she turned into another hallway the bronze allowed his back legs to kick him off and away from the floor surface -- gaining altitude quicker and with lest effort that way as he chased after her... And smacking a drudge square in the face with his tail as he flew by -- his claws grazing the man's hair before he ducked and cried out in pain and surprise at the sudden hit.

A scoff was all the bronze gave in return, it was those creature's fault for getting in his way. Left and right, up and down, the bronze did his best to match the younger and more agile queen with his bulky and strong physic. A snarl or two was usually enough to make any human duck if needed, watching a scarred and snarling firelizard coming your way (especially with such a face he placed sometimes) was enough to warn their bodies to react and duck or slam themselves against the wall to avoid the flying bronze

---

Oh, he was getting tired. So very, very tired... The blue crooned pitifully from way back -- by now having stopped trying to impress the gol with aerial displays and simply conserving his energy as he went. He flew high, close to the stone domed ceiling of the hallways as he watched and followed the fair below. He might not win this, but he would see it to the end. As his brother seemed to pick on a poor young flitter he gave a chirp in his direction, probably a plea or another to play nice that was lost in the bronze's ears as he flew.

Still, at least from up here he didn't have to worry about dodging other things, or getting lost, so the blue could continue to focus on his crooned and thrilled singing for the gold as he continued to follow -- by now well over five 'lizard lengths behind the pack of bronzes and brown ahead of him chasing after the gold.

[parallel]

Kialio put on a burst of speed when he saw the gold dive down to the ground, twisting as she went. Mimicry was the best form of flattery right? He too shot into a corkscrew dive and kept low to the ground as they flew through different hallways.

Along the way he raised himself up enough off the ground to twist and roll in the air as he flew. He was proving to her how confident, dexterous and brave he was, one false move and he could break a wing! But no, he was much too good a flier for that. He soared upwards as she gained altitude. He meandered through people, trying not hit any with his tail, but still focusing on the precious queen.

[Marnark]

Still just as silent as he had been for the last obstacle course, Torc moved like he was one with the air and the currents in the halls. Twisting this way and that, he made it all look natural, a smooth dance through the atmosphere. He didn't fly as low to the floor as his lovely Queen did, but that didn't mean anything. It only gave him more room for a few extra maneuvers. Rolling and twisting as he shot around every turn without hardly losing any momentum as the air rushed past his fully filled sails, he kept up easily.

When she shot into another hall and finally arced upward, Torc adjusted his angle to follow her up. This was a significant move to him; it told him she was nearing the end, even though they were still rather distressingly indoors. There wasn't a whole lot of height to be had. But if this was where she wanted to be, then so be it. He followed her up into the top of the space, throwing in a few barrel rolls for effect, showing off his muscular form.

Finally, he offered up a small croon for her. But it wasn't an empty flattery, instead more of the praising comment from someone that often times doesn't speak their mind. Indeed, if he didn't actually think it was so, he would not say so!

[Ise]

Orlai continued to push herself even though she knew she was at the end of her flight. She had led them on a good chase though, or so she thought as she took one more turn and they all found themselves back in the cavernous Weyrhall. The last of her energy was spent flying upwards, gaining as much altitude as she could.

The golds wings opened as she started to fall before she called out to Kialio, the winner of her flight, to catch her and claim her.