All that Glitters can be Gold (Goldflight!)

[katgod]

The light sheen of Elfreth caught the morning sun's rays while she dozed, tail twitching. Laszreen knew as any Goldrider would that her Gold would wake in the foulest of tempers. What the outcome would be, she couldn't guess. The only things that were certain were that she would do as Laszreen commanded and blood her kill, she would fly and someone would catch her. The young woman stood on the ledge not really watching anything. Spacing out was not something she normally did but Laszreen was having a difficult time with how things in life were working out.

She had more power than most women on Pern which would be enough except she felt like there was something missing. What more could she possibly want? She was free to do as she pleased while still serving the Weyr. A Weyr where she only had one superior and the woman was entirely too nice to her. Laszreen could not force herself to smile, not even the tiniest bit. For all anyone could tell she was equally as tempermental as her dragon was about to be.

If it was one thing she had learned it was that this flight was going to be meaningless. Men were much too flighty to be worth much of her time anymore. She had wasted enough energy on that. Practicality would settle in. Elfreth would choose the man best suited for the position of Weyrsecond. Other than that, she could care less. As her cold, dark eyes settled back on the slumbering Gold the dragon began to lift her wedge shaped head.
Good morning beloved.
I'm hungry!The dragon stated loudly and twitched her tail more vigorously. She was a very testy Gold to begin with, it was hard for most people to deal with Elfreth on a daily basis, days like today there was no reasoning with her.

Laszreen put straps on the Gold for the trip to the Feeding Grounds. Her deft hands made quick work of them. Within minutes they were off. The Feeding Grounds were mostly empty this time of day. Either the other riders were in drills at this hour or they were still sleeping. The chill morning air made Elfreth very happy. She knew this would make the beasts feel warmer to her when she devoured them.

You will not devour the beasts. Blood only. Laszreen spoke as she quickly removed the straps.
I'm STARVING! I'll eat what I want!
And have one of those males easily catch you?
They can't catch me. I'm free.
Then you will blood and blood only. Laszreen's tone suggested that there was no other options. It was almost like getting the Mom look when you had done something wrong.

Blooding made Elfreth more testy but Laszreen remained firm. The pale Gold blooded three beasts before she was done with them. Enjoying the hunt was off the menu for the day, she had wanted them as quickly as possible. Now who believes himself worthy enough to chase me into the skies?! Elfreth let it out so that the other dragons might hear. She was not about to wait for a reply, as she took to the skies in one semi-graceful leap.

[jerith]

Mornings had gotten down to routines: Wake up, grab a bite, run a few laps around the bowl, come back, tend to his dragon, wash, get something more substanchal on his stomach. And that was all before the sun was even up in the sky good.

Days were spent drilling and training, tending to the Wing and assisting the Wing Leader.

Why should today be any diffrent? Gliath was moody, less talkative...but he was like that sometimes...

'That same strange itch, something just out of sight', Jerith knew what it was, he had felt it many times. A Gold was going to rise. Laszreen's Elfreth

Gliath wasn't eating the beasts he had caught, he was just blooding them. I wish to chase the Gold, I will catch the Gold

Did J'rin really want him to? Laszreen was from Ingen Weyr. But no, we are all one Weyr now, and we have to act like it.

J'ren felt Elfreth call out in his mind as Gliath answered back with a trumpeting call of his own.

Rise Bronzes! The Golden Queen calls and we rise! Take wing and give chase all, but only one is worthy! Elfreth, I will be that one!

Gliath lauched into the air throwing up a dust cloud as he went. J'ren worked to keep his focus as he walked towards where Laszreen stood.

[Zenniel]

I give up, what is the answer. It was a statement more than a question. The large Brown dragon had tried too many times to figure out this answer, and it was killing him. Too many times his rider had told him not to think too much. And too many times he had thought just that amount.

"Don't think too much, dragon!" B'oone cried throwing his hands up in exasperation. "I asked you, 'how many ghosts does it take to change a glow! The answer is--"

Hold that thought, mine.

[/b] Brennanth said, swinging his head toward one of the queenrider's Weyrs. She's been moody lately, mine. She shall fly soon.[/b]

"Don't tell me you're going to try to catch Elfreth, too, Brennie." B'oone sighed, and held his head. "Why not just stick with Isisth?"

Brennanth swung his head back to his rider, It is an honor to be large enough to participate in a gold's flight, mine.[/b] And, after turning so B'oone could climb onto his back, he said, I shall blood before she does. I know that last time I needed all the energy I could get.

Even as B'oone climbed onto his dragon's back, he said, "She won't catch you, anyway. So why try?"

Brennanth caught the wind in his wings and created a powerful downdraft to raise himself in the air, Excersize. To show the others that a Brown can fly when he puts his mind to it.[/b]

B’oone leapt off Brennanth when they reached the pens. “But you are one of the largest Browns. The other Browns cannot do the same as you, and you know it.”

Brennanth snorted and took off for a beast. His mind-link was silent until he caught and blooded one. They need to put their minds to it.[/b]

B’oone sighed, exasperated even more so than before. “You are a strange Brown, you know!” He yelled to his Brown, even though Brennanth could hear him.

Brennanth didn’t answer, and swung in for another herdbeast. Two should suffice. Besides, he heard Elfreth coming, and he didn’t want to be in the way for when she blooded. As he knew, all queens grew irritable during their Flights. He quickly blooded the second beast, and hop-skipped out of the way as Elfreth showed. He did not want to waste too much energy flying just yet.

He had chosen his blooding spot carefully, just like last time. He needed every advantage to stay in the flight. He stood on the highest rise he could find near the pens, and watched as Elfreth blooded three beasts. Brennanth’s stomach clenched—he should have blooded another beast. But then Elfreth jumped high into the sky. Brennanth was ready.

I shall chase you, marvelous queen, ruler of the skies![/b] He trumpeted, falling off the ledge, letting the wind take his wings rather than having to work for liftoff. And then he was following Elfreth, current ruler of the skies… the whole sky was her playground if only now.
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[TheDreamerLady]

Torenth and R'net were dozing in the early morning light, and slight chill of Nova's still unwarmed air. The redhead liked to be outside, but if he didn't want to feel faint from the heat, or get a terrible sunburn(Healer's Creams or not), it had to be in the morning. In a way, he was glad that Neory let him help her with her duties- elsewise he'd be stuck inside unless he was working with his Wing, and his Wingseconds did most of the work, as he wanted to train both of them so that they could be Wingleaders in their own right. He wasn't getting any younger, and at a certain point, he'd have to give up his place as Wingleader.

During his doze, R'net became aware of Torenth tensing slightly, and he awoke. A quick glance at Torenth's heightened color, and bright eyes explained what was going on, and R'net headed off- on foot- to the Flight Room. It was simply to risky for him to try and fly when at any moment he could forget himself, and fall off. Thankfully, he arrived as Torenth was blooding his third beast, and without any words being spoken mind-to-mind, the pair was ready to chase after the small, delicate, silver-gold dragon of Igen Breeding.

We all follow you, Sweet Elfreth, for how could we resist you? Torenth/R'net whispered softly, leaping off the ground, and following her, eyes watching her, and looking for clues about what she would do.

[katgod]

The Queen was not at all impressed by those who followed her. Their pretty words were meaningless and they had yet to prove to her of their worth. Maybe she did not care. In fact, she probably could care more about this whole flight situation but much like her rider, emotions were not her strong point. Elfreth was a difficult Queen to speak with and that made her seem even more aloof than the average Gold. The males trailing her would likely wait till she wore herself out but Golds had more stamina than greens and Elfreth being smaller than the average Queen was quite agile for her color.

Laszreen knew instinctively to walk towards the closest flight room. The men surrounding her, she knew and didn't know depending on how much contact she had had with them. She cared little for who was worthy or not. All she cared about was that the flight go well and that a great clutch come from it. Elfreth needed a confidence boost after not flying till after Sheluth.

The silvery Gold flew higher and higher, seeming to be slow, till she let herself dive to the left. Then she was up again, gliding straight into the sun, willing the males to keep up and wanting some of them not to. She wanted to be the best and to be the best she had to out think and out fly these males. Her hide shone brighter with the light of the sun on it, making it almost blinding to look at her. The dragon was well aware of this fact and used it to her advantage.

She did a tumbled in the air and was diving again, twisting and zig zagging in the air. She flew straight as an arrow for a good minute, letting her own massive size, feed her speed. Now that she had all the momentum she could, it was easy to see how intelligent Queens were. Probably Elfreth knew that the males would only use this as an opportunity to gain their own speed. She was testing them. In this testing she found quite a bit of joy.

Laszreen was smiling, a dark unmirthful smile. She did not care about them, the only thing amusing her was her own dragon's intellect. The pair were examining the males through Elfreth's eyes. The only prospects they were going to consider were going to be Bronze, not that browns giving chase was bad, as it made the competition more interesting, but Bronzes were proven to be better sires. Elfreth wanted to prove herself at this new Weyr.

She took a turn to her right and flew upwards toward the sky and then twisted to the right again. The gold refused to make this easy on them. She was going to use every trick she had and all of her energy and stamina before she chose. Taunting them, she said, Come on boys, you can do better...

[Zenniel]

B’oone unwillingly followed Laszreen through the Weyr. He did not want Brennanth to Chase. He did not want Brennanth to even think he could win a Gold flight. But, if not him, then who? It was true, Brennanth was the largest Brown he’d seen so far—and for that B’oone was happy—but Brennanth didn’t have to flaunt that power. However, as wave after wave of unrelenting dragonlust flowed through him, B’oone felt his mind focus less and less on the fact that Brennie was a Brown and more and more on the fact that Brennie was facing a Gold.

And that Gold was a very wonderful figure, flying through the sky. B’oone blinked, trying to get the image out of his mind. He had to follow Laszreen, the human counterpart to that wonderful Gold that filled all of Brennanth’s eyesight. And he was focusing on not running into things, or tripping over things. B’oone found himself, and the other chasers’ riders, following Laszreen closely. If she were anything like her golden queen on flight day, she’d be snarling if any one of them got too close. B’oone consciously backed off, knowing all too well that females could lash out as hard as, or twice as hard as, males.

Brennanth, on the other hand, was feeling the wind fly under his wings just as he was flying over it. Brennanth kept a respectable distance away from the silver colored queen, knowing at any moment she could do something incredibly unpredictable. He had to use his wits if he were to stay in the flight the whole time. Those wits included, but were not limited to, using the hot air to sustain his bulk instead of using his wings, and using the spent-over wind of the other dragons. Particularly the queen’s left over wind. She was large, and her spent wind would help him. If she would just fly in the same straight line the whole time—

But Elfreth was much too clever for that. She quickly banked, and flew into the sun. Brennanth blinked, his multi-faceted eyes showing spots of red in the otherwise luscious, love-filled depths. Elfreth was playing the sun against them. Normally, the sun was a strong point in the male’s flight, for it glinted off the female’s hide and further showed the males where the female was. But now Elfreth was changing things on him. Elfreth was good, but not good enough. Quickly angling himself to follow her, Brennanth shielded all but the smallest part of his eyes. He could see her shining silhouette, but that’s all he needed to see. Again he was in her spent wind.

Until she dove.

Brennanth, wisely, furled his wings fully to his body. He dropped like a stone. No, not a stone. He and B’oone had worked on this move for many Turns while combating Thread. Even at the Gatherings, when a spare ‘Thread,’ or rope piece, broke from the main crowd, and it looked as if they were going to fail at the game, there went Brennanth, diving for the Thread, charring it, and then, without missing a beat, twisting back up to the ranks of his team. Brennanth could have been renowned, if, of course, he was a Bronze. It was a very tricky procedure, and required a lot of luck.

And Brennanth knew that Elfreth could not fall forever, so he planned to put his plan to use. He saw her, just ahead of him, streaking upwards through the sky again. Brennanth flared his wings suddenly, loosing all speed he once had while plummeting toward the ground. Then, in a massive burst of what seemed like energy but was actually the excess air rushing up to fill the void he had just occupied, Brennanth shot up. He spiraled upwards, but still he noticed he was behind. He didn’t matter, he wasn’t in this to win—unless, of course, there was that off chance that Elfreth wanted him—he was in this to show that he could, indeed, fly with a gold and keep up. And that the first flight had not been a fluke. He would fly Elfreth, even if he wasn’t going to catch her.

Contrasting deeply with what the other males were flying her for, Brennanth was instead flying her to show her he wasn’t half bad. To show them he wasn’t half bad. He pulled up behind her, still spiraling upward with her, with the silvery queen. Don’t tell me that’s all you’ve got?

[/b] Brennanth chided, winging behind her, wanting more.
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[Adobe]

Kesentith and R'phin were heading back to the weyr. It had been a leisurely exploration trip, and R'phin wanted to get away from those brats. Many of them were probably still moping about not Impressing. He didn't want to deal with them. Why was he made a Candidate Master when he was good enough to be a Wingsecond? Well, he deserved some time off, and he wanted to get to know the terrain around Nova. It was a beautiful area, he had found out.

Then The queen rises, hurry! Kesentith bugled to His, as they betweened in sight of the Weyr. By process of elimination R'phin knew it had to be Elfreth, the small but fierce queen of Igen. Well then we must get back and blood quickly, eh? It had been a while since Kesentith had flown in a gold flight. Actually in a flight at all, since R'phin would not dare fly in a greenflight in Igen. It was hard too, keeping a tight leash on the randy bronze.

Soon enough Kesentith landed while the other bronzes-and brown- had finished blooding and were waiting as the queen feasted. R'phin dismounted and went to the flightrooms right away still in his leathers. Well, it would be a mere obstical, if he won or if he found a flight moth.

Kesentith flew high up with the males. If he had wanted to win, he'd have to use his small stature to his advantage. He was still bigger than brown dragons, so that was a confidence boost. He knew Elfreth, and he was glad that Ionuth was not in the flight. Then she dove to the left, he followed. Then she pulled up into the sunlight, he faltered at the temporary blindness but moved himself in such a way as to use Elfreth herself to block out the rays. While she still glinted, it was sort of like an eclipse-unless she moved.

Elfreth twisted in the air and agile little (if a bronze could ever be considered little...) Kesentith corkscrewed after her. As if she were trying to make them dizzy, she abruptly dove. Now, logic would tell you that in dragonflight, what goes down must come up, unless the said queen is suicidal, but to a lusty bronze, logic is thrown out the window. Of course, Kesentith did think quickly, for that was how he won Helanith that one time... but for now, he could only think of one thing- getting to Elfreth as fast as he could. So he dove, and he folded his wings flying straight to the rocky floor beneath them.

The trick was to know when to pull up. Too soon, well, you might loose momentum and not gain enough speed going up. Like a pendulum. On the other wing, too late, and well, there's a Kesentith pancake. Fortunately, Kesentith pulled up just in time, however he missed the fly to the right memo and didn't have time to manuvere that way. He finally righted himself again after the queen, but he needed to catch up. . .

Meanwhile on the ground, R'phin stared lustily at Laszreen. Being a bronzerider from Igen it was in the back of his mind that if he dared catch her, J'var would have his liver for breakfast. He had a healthy fear and respect of the Wingleader, and he knew what he could do back home. . . However, she looked so heavenly. He wanted her. He desired her. He needed her. If he caught her he'd be dead. All thanks to Kesentith's sex drive.

[TheDreamerLady]

When Elfreth did not respond to anyone's cajoling endearment, Torenth and R'net instantly crossed off the part of their brain that was thinking of what to say, and turned, instead, to thinking of how to outsmart the small, agile, Queen.

When she twisted up into the sun, Torenth didn't bother to follow, heading towards the direction she'd been heading before she'd blinded her Following. He was rewarded moments later, when she dive bombed down.

That time he followed her, dropping behind her top two followers, using their wind drag to make his chase easier, and her distance to gage where she was going, and adjusted where he was heading based on that.

R'net/Torenth consulted prior flights to decide how long they had until Elfreth started to tire. It didn't look like it would occur anytime soon, so they stayed in their place(a solid third, perhaps), and carefully analyzed where Elfreth was going, and how she was getting there.

[jerith]

Gliath did what he always did in a flight, watch and wait and then move in. A carefully placed swoop and a shouldering weave and he was right behind her, tied with the others.

He knew better than to waste energy in a long flight. Chasing the slivery Gold Queen was what he wanted, to catch her. Admitedly, that was what everyone of them wanted, to be the dragon that sired the next generation.

[katgod]

(as a reminder, my open flights are always pure chance...I'm rolling the dice.)

Elfreth was wasting no time as a few of the chasers seemed to be tiring and falling out. Only a few still gave chase and though they seemed to be a little to close for comfort, Elfreth had not quite given them her all just yet. She was known to be tricky and in an open flight everything was up in the air. The Gold knew exactly what she should do. Quicker than any may have expected this late in the flight, she did a flip turn and flew underneath the chasers, pulling up into the air after passing them. If they had tried to catch her the force of her speed and theirs would end up injuring the dragons.

She fully expected them to follow her though she hoped she had surprised them. Elfreth didn't like being predictable. The movement of the air past her wing, made her feel more free than before. The sky seemed to be free of anything but her for a moment before the sound of the males behind her brought her back to reality. Queens could fly a lot longer than greens could, which Elfreth intended to prove. Her smaller size made her a little touchy on the stamina aspect of flight. Some people thought she would do better if she were larger.

She would tire it was inevitable but she wasn't going to do so easily. The Queen manuevered through the air with a practiced strategy. She had never given in to them easily. It would be long, drawn out until they too felt their strength giving way. She felt herself growing more tired but she was not yet ready to give in to the weariness of her body. She had a decision to make and it was not one made lightly.

As her Queen made judgements in the air, so too did Laszreen. She was not going to take anyone that was less than worthy of being Weyrsecond. They all seemed to believe she would choose them because they were worthy but none of them were her equal. Not one. Laszreen/Elfreth took her time figuring out what she wanted, while she flew erratically, one second flying to the right the next spinning and flying in a completely different direction. She was using her agility as best she could.

Wings growing heavier the Queen felt the energy draining from her with each beat. Who would be worthy? Torenth, Gliath or Kesentith. Elfreth had deliberately discounted the brown Brennanth for though he had flown well, he was no Bronze. The Gold toyed with them next, letting herself drop down between two of the Bronzes. Her wing tips brushing theres just barely. Turning to one side she said, Gliath, don't let me fall.

In a way, Laszreen was sort of relieved. J'var did not know J'ren and he was from Telgar so Laszeen did not know him too well either. She had also avoided making herself feel horrible by choosing R'net. He obviously loved Neory and she couldn't do what the other Gold rider had done. Still she had helped the intermingling of the Weyr by choosing a Telgarian for Weyrsecond.

What came next was Laszreen, giving in to her dragon lust and trying very hard not to think about whom she was with. J'ren would do for this once. Her thoughts and her body were not on the same page as it burned with lust for him and only him.

[Zenniel]

Brennanth knew he would not be chosen. So why was he flying this spectacular, marvelous silver-gold queen? Because he knew, even if he did not catch her, that he had to be better than the other Browns. He had to show everyone what he could do. He was no longer doing this on behalf of the Browns, not entirely. He was doing this to prove to himself that Sheluth’s flight was not a fluke. That he could, in fact, chase the most brilliant color there ever was. He was the middle man. He would never win a gold flight, no matter what. But he must show himself that, even if he would never win, he could try. And, by the shards, he did show himself.

Brennanth, though is smart-alecked response begged something different, was beginning to tire. He was afraid he was going to drop out, fall so behind that he could not possibly say that he had stayed with the queen the whole time. And he knew that, if no one caught her soon, he would inevitably fail, inevitably say that Sheluth’s flight was luck, and that he, a Brown, could never chase a queen. He watched, soaring in a bronze’s spent-wind, as the queen dropped below all chasers. A couple dove for her, but Brennanth knew better. Even if he would not be chosen, he knew the tricks a queen could use. She was aiming to make some of her chasers drop out near the end. Brennanth, however, pivoted, and found himself just behind the queen.

However, his heavy wings came into play, and he dropped steadily behind, despite being constantly in her spent-wind. He saw two Bronzes pass him, but he was not going to go out without a fight. In his mind, he could hear B’oone yelling, ’Brennie, that’s enough!’ B’oone’s voice was panicked. Why was his voice panicked? Brennanth knew he had enough strength to continue to chase. Brennanth knew that he could see this flight to the end. He may strain a wing, he may find himself grounded for a day somewhere, but he would not miss this chance to fly. Dimly, in his mind, he heard B’oone cry out, ’Brennie, you’re over-exerting yourself!’ And dimly he could hear the other chasers haughtily crying out that the queen was tiring. Brennanth’s only sight was Elfreth. He would fly until she caught.

Wings tiring, faltering, he dropped a few feet. Then she saw the queen move in, move toward a Bronze. Why should it be him? He berated himself for not keeping up. But then he realized that he was keeping up, he had kept up. His lust-filled eyes clouded over with gray, pain, as he sluggishly slowed down. He could feel the ichor pounding through his veins, feel his head stuffing up. But Brennanth gave the most glorious bugle he had ever given. He had kept up, Sheluth’s flight had not been a rare fluke. He was Brennanth, chaser of golds! He had not won, but he had succeeded in following.

And they had said that he would not amount to much, those Bronzes. He had shown them. ’Do not between, dear dragon.’ Came the voice, a far off voice that Brennanth remembered, albeit slowly. It was His, it was B’oone. Tired, Brennanth said, I did it, I have won.

[/b] Brennanth let the wind slowly take him down to earth, close to Star Hold, he realized. When he touched down, he let out a slow sigh. He was happy. ’I’m coming, Brennie. Take it easy.’ B’oone said, and Brennanth had the distinct impression of B’oone running down hallways to find a rider who would help him get to his dragon.

Brennanth’s hide was gray, but he was not dead. Far from it, he was elated. He had won. Slowly, Brennanth slipped into the welcoming darkness of sleep.
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