First time for everything (Kellerth rises)

[Kisha-Ra]

This was exciting, Tombath decided, driving up through the clouds again to skim along their tops for a few moments before diving back down through them again. He quite like this little hiding game, although he began, after a while, to become concerned that one of the others might manage to capture her in the cloudbank.

Fortunately that had not happened, and once the gold shot out above the clouds would not happen. Tombath, rising out of the cloudbank a short way behind her, gave an admiring croon as she neatly evaded Antagyth. That was well done.

Boldly the bronze dropped back through the clouds as Kellerth did so, trusting that this time she wouldn’t choose to stay there, in any case his skill (or more likely his luck, but you didn’t see Tombath admitting that) had allowed him to get close enough that he was confident he could keep her tail in sight no matter what.

----

Perhaps a little more hidden than the bronzes and any bold brown Igadoth drifted through the dreamlike cloud world, occasionally twisting to one side or another to avoid the body of a rival that loomed in the mists, and all the while seeking those flashes of pale gold. Then he saw it, as he swerved sharply to avoid the orange/bronze shape powering up through the clouds. The silver growled menacingly at the bronze, who didn’t even notice, he just knew the other male had done that on purpose.

Drifting half in and half out of the cloudbank Igadoth observed a swift evasion on Kellerth’s part, cheating a rival bronze of what would have been a lucky catch, but the silver remained silent, he wasn’t sure if the gold could see him or not but if she couldn’t he didn’t want her to notice him.

As thgold desecended back through the clouds Igadoth, too, allowed himself to be swallowed by the mists again and drifted down. Loath to leave the concealing clouds until he was sure of what the gold had in mind next, the silver just drifted in the lower levels.

Z’mir frowned slightly, unsure of why the gold stepped away from him towards another. How had he displeased her? How had Antagyth pleased her?

[Bookworm]

Kellerth drifted through the top of the cloud, twisting backwards towards her suitors. She came perilously close to Antagyth, and he reached out, trying to grab her instinctively. She was too quick, and she slipped through his claws as she pulled her wings in close to her body.

He recovered quickly, backwinging and changing direction to fly after her again. It was too early for the Flight to end, anyway. The Weyr needed a big clutch to recuperate from its losses and only a long chase would bring that. He saw her golden form retreat back into the cloud and he followed, not wanting to lose sight of her. He sped through to the other side of the cloud and flew after Kellerth, following her faithfully.

F'mar's breath caught in his throat as Lysita stepped towards him. He had felt the excitement, and then the disappointment, when Antagyth just missed catching Kellerth. It seemed like his bronze had not fallen out of favor with Kellerth, though. He took Lysita's hand and felt something like electricity pass through the touch. It was thrilling to be in contact with the woman whose dragon his bronze was chasing. It was tempting to pull her over to him and press her body against his, to get the closeness both he and Antagyth desired. But it was too soon. So he just squeezed her hand and let her move closer if she wished, first turning his adoring gaze on her and then glaring at the other men who dared to offend her.

[shadowreine]

The glory of the wind under bronze rings might, for a moment, have caused the weyrleader pair to forget.

Then the light glinted from Kellerth's hide, so much paler than her dam's, and they knew. And she was reaching for...no.

A false alarm, F'mar selected to be the one she teased and reached for, for queenriders often did such when caught up in their dragon's rage and lust and need.

It was going to be a long flight, it already was a long flight, and Kellerth was everything. Claiming the sky, the males and the Weyr for her own, as queens had always done. As tradition spoke it.

Tradition that survived despite all of the new colors. Nothing, no force on Pern, could make a queenflight, a leadership flight, anything but what it was.

Pain flowed over him, mingling with the lust, and there was no other bed for him to seek when Kylith failed, and there was nothing but her and the bronze wings and...

It was too soon, she pulled away from F'mar. C'lyn watching her. A pretty girl, and a glorious queen. Both...and not Kelyna. Painfully not...

[Franny]

Ruxth couldn't find the queen. She was somewhere in this nasty cloud world! It angered Ruxth when a queen decided to pull tricks. The queen should fly and the strongest should catch her, not the most cunning!

Ruxth flew up above the clouds just to see the queen go near Antagyth a ways away. With energy Ruzth thrust himself forward to try and find the elusive queen. He had to find her, even if he wasn't to near her now, he had to catch her!

Meanwhile J'can glarred at F'mar for touching Lysita. He was just as caught in lust as F'mar, and he believed himself better than the other bornze riders, and definitly better than the silver rider.

Ruxth felt himself catching up now that he wasn't fighting the clouds as much. Maybe he could still catch up and win.

[Lysita]

Kellerth could feel her wings starting to tire but she wasn't ready to chose yet, she wanted to test them more. Yet her wings were tiring faster then she would like, forcing her to admit that she had no choice but to choose.

Back on the ground Lysita grasped F'mar's hand, holding onto it like it was a lifeline and letting out a small reliefed breath. She hadn't been sure he would make any move, that he would see the helplessness she felt in her eyes, but he must have. She turned her gaze back to the sky, even she allowed herself to merge more fully with Kellerth. She remembered the lesson Kelyna had given her on flights and was taking information from that. If she had felt more comfortable with the crowd of men around her, she might not have decided to use it, but she wanted Kellerth to choose the right dragon.

Up in the sky, Kellerth could feel what Lysita wanted her to, could feel her rider's need for Antagyth to win. The young gold had to admit that he had impressed her the most and taking the cue from her rider and her wings, she crooned to Antagyth as she positioned herself beneath and slightly in front of him. Let us fly Antagyth.

"It worked." Lysita murmured as she spun to face F'mar with a soft smile before stepping up close to him. She reached out with her free hand to lightly touch his cheek as she looked at him, a hint of something deeper then flightlust twinkling in her eyes.

---

Thanks for a wonderful flight guys, parts had me laughing.
Congratulations to F'mar and Antagyth for winning and becoming out new Weyrleader.

[Bookworm]

Antagyth could tell that Kellerth was growing tired. He flew steadily, waiting for her to make a choose. Then she flew towards him, and he crooned in surprise and happiness. He tilted his neck down and twined it around hers, then flared his wings to support their fall.

F'mar felt the rush of victory, exhileration, and love flood through the link from his dragon. He looked deep into Lysita's eyes as he took her in his arms. "Let's bring them home," he whispered, before leaning down to kiss her.