Mating Flight: House of the Rising Sun (attn: All Bronze and Brown Firelizards)

((OOC: Anyone can feel free to make a wild bronze or brown for the purposes of this flight if you do not have a PC male firelizards. Blues are not prohibited from chasing but understand they are unlikely to catch a gold. Good luck!)

~Wanting.~ was all the warning that Casriel received. They had been out by the river; after an early morning sweep riding Maraxith had needed washing. A darkly color dragon picked up a surprising amount of grime in a dusty canyon. Casriel wasn't about to let him suffer being dingy and itchy, so she had spent the later part of the morniny washing him. Now he was dry and Casriel had just about finished polishing him when Victory leaped suddenly from her perch on a stone just three feet from Casriel. She was glowing, twenty four carat gold brightness covered her nose to tail and her eyes whirled hotly. She trumpeted suddenly, fanning her wings as she touched down on a higher cliff face. Her voice startled Casriel, who had little idea of how loud her firelizard queen was. Now, she understood.

~Wanting. Needing. Impatient!~ Victory broadcasted loudly and Casriel got impressions of bronze and brown firelizards from images sent to her through the queen. In a sudden leap, she was off like a golden arrow. Victory cut fast through the rocks and into the open sky.

~Want! Want!~ came the flood of emotions to Victory and she snaked a head under her wing to see who projected at her. A brown firelizard bugled his interest and sped toward the golden female. Victory checked her wings and shot upwards, letting the winds carry her away. She heard other voices, male voices, coloring the air as her broadcast surged over the surrounding area.

~Desire. Contempt. Power!~ Victory spat back at the wild brown. She would prove no easy catch for wild males.

~pride, desire, arrogance~ The wild bronze projected this heady cocktail of emotions as he rode the air in to join the chase for the shining queen.  ~admiration, desire~ he added, as the sun glinted off of her golden wings.  He angled his body so as to showcase his great size.  He wasn't a young bronze, but his wingspan rivaled that of a small queen, and in his many Turns of surviving in the wild, he'd caught many a green, and even a gold or two.  This was his game, and he dearly, dearly loved to play.

The wild bronze called out with a trilling challenge filled with appreciation for Victory's form and fluidity in the air.  She really was a beautiful queen, and on her maiden flight, if he didn't miss his guess.  What a prize!  What a pair they would make!

Victory snarled at them all, even as she radiated pleasure and desire. They would have to prove themselves this day or they would hold nothing but icy disappointment. She twirled and dived, sunlight spangling off her hide. She called with the voice of a silver bell, high and full of need. Ahead of her, two rocks came together to form a keyhole. A trickle of water shivered in the bright sunlight and arched out like a spray of diamonds as she flew through it. The water was cool and felt good down the bright lines of her body.

The wild bronze followed the shining golden siren without hesitation. The heat of desire burned through him, and the icy cold of the water was merely a pleasantly cool moment by comparison. She was fast was this lovely queen, fast and maneuverable.

But he was a wily bronze, and he was no slouch himself. His wings beat against the air, bringing him closer and closer to the sunrise gleam of his goal.

The nimble brown swooped through, late to the flight but at a perfect angle to bypass the rocks entirely and make up quite a bit of ground. He'd felt this shining pull from a warm, sunny perch, and left his lazy post-meal contentedness for this jewel of call without hesitation.

His caroling response was lovely, his intensity clear, and he drove toward the queen with enthusiasm and the skill of many hard won turns in the wild.

A rival! The wild bronze bellowed out his disapproval of the nimble brown's encroachment. This was his queen! Indignant fury fueled his wings as he beat hard against the air, determined more than ever to draw close to her lithe, golden body and make her his own.

Ignoring both of them, a second brown, this one less lazy, more steady and determined, seemed to join the chase out of nowhere. Of course, he hadn't-- he'd been there for quite some time, and had been slowly catching up. His size and lovely chocolate-colored hide spoke for him well enough-- he didn't need all the impressive acrobatics.

He did call to Victory, though, reminding her he was there as well. She had another choice if she so desired-- a steady, persistent mate would serve her future progeny well.

It was the first brown that rushed her and she nimbly evaded him. He was small and pale colored, something like dust and sand. This did place her too close to the bronze and other brown, forcing her to drop back to avoid them. She was not ready to be caught.

Readiness did not matter.

It was the steady call that washed over her as she sudden found her wings fouled. Chocolate brown wings and then instinct stole over her like a cloud. The world was awash in bright gold wings and chocolate. Crooning deep her pleasure, Victory twined her neck with the chocolate brown. He was steady and strong; they would have many powerful children together.

(Congrats Jess- I tossed the dice and it came up your brown!)