Flight 11
Sun Jasmith and Earth Quail

Written by Cyan and Trix

It was sunny day, but the light of the sun was rivalled by the light that shone from Jasmith's hide. It was a beacon that no male dragon could misinterpret. Jasmith approvingly looked at her suitors. Three earths and one rain had dared place their name on the boards. 
Jasmith looked down on them from her home cavern. She knew they knew she was watching, but all they could do was wait until she decided it was time to blood her prey. She decided that she could postpone her flight a bit longer if it meant gaining information about her suitors. Jasmith looked down at each of the male dragons individually.
The first earth, earth Mordinaiith seemed rather distant from the other three. In fact there were three groups of chasers. Mordinaiith just looked more distant than the others. He was at the edge of the field and looked like he didn't belong there. His eyes were on the sea and the fishing boats. So were his riders. Both seemed to contemplate blowing of the flight and going swimming. Jasmith wasn't an overly vain sun, but she had her limits... especially now.
A bit closer were the two dragons Rain Ciqantath and his reincarnated bond Earth Arajaxth. Jasmith found their relationship complicated, sure she had heard of other reincarnations, one was even said to have hatched at Lantessama, though that had been a lover's incarnation, not a bond's.
Jasmith's eyes shifted again and an irritated smirk appeared on her face when she saw Earth Quail, a Lantessama born dragon with the biggest crush on her. He had been drooling all over her ever since he had first seen her. Jasmith was surprised that he could wait for her still. She had never once stopped long enough to see the genuine love in his eyes, though she saw it now. Devotion... She knew he had a very optimistic soul, apparently his bond was some kind of killer.
When Quail felt the eyes of his love on him he felt blood rush to his cheeks. Sometimes, being an earth had it's advantages. No-one could see that he was blushing, though his bond, Chimera felt it and looked at him troubled.
Quail looked around hastily and suddenly saw just what he needed, a patch of flowers within range of his tail. Carefully he picked up a flower and brought it to his arms. He lifted it up to the cavern where Jasmith was watching.
Jasmith looked down and wondered what she should do now. She really liked that gesture, but she couldn't show a preference just yet. Any male to catch her would have to prove himself worthy. So she just nodded and watched as Quail got in trouble.
Quail nearly jumped up in fear when the flower started moving. Wait! It wasn't a flower, it was a fazzle... and not a very happy one. It managed to get away and slithered of, but not before thwapping Quail over the head.
Jasmith knew that she could stall no longer, she had reached the last of her four suitors and got moving. In one elegant movement she swooped down, touched the ground for a split second and then lifted of, without draining a prey for strength.
"Jasmith!" Qanyina yelled after her bond.
"What?" the sun asked.
"How will you know which one of them is the right one for you."
"The right one for me is the most optimistic... and if he is only a bit like me than he will love playing out in the sky when the weather is just right. The one for me, will be the one that can keep up with all the tricks I'm going to pull."
"Good Luck!" Qanyina said softly and retreated back into her dragon's subconscious so Jasmith could concentrate on flying.
Jasmith's fast take off startled the males, they had never expected a Pernese gold to actually take of without blooding a few beasts first, but this one had. In fact, there was only one male that had taken off right after she had.
Earth Quail, his eyes fixated on the sun, had not been fooled by her sudden depart. He had seen her muscles -perfect in every way- tighten when she jumped down. He was in the air, right on her tail when the other 3 were only starting to realise that Jasmith was already gone.
Within two minutes they too were aloft, but already Jasmith and Quail were only small specks at the edge of their sight. The situation looked rather bleak for them, but neither of the three males who had fallen behind were about to give up that easily. 
Earth Arjaxath and Rain Ciqantath soon had formed a small cluster of wings, helping each other searching for faster air currents, jumping in and out the Elsewhere, every time gaining a little on Jasmith and Quail.
Suddenly the two teleporting dragons were surprised by Mordinaiith who dived down on them from above. He too had not dallied and thought it was unfair for the two bonds to work together while he, like any other chaser would have, was fighting to claim Jasmith on his own. 
The two bonds flung out of the earths considerable bulk and avoided a direct collision. This left Mordinaiith with another problem. 
"Daervin!" he called out, "I can't stop!"
With a mighty splash the earth bombed into the water of the ocean below. Mordinaiith's dark form soon resurfacing. The feeling of water against his warm wings and vruises on his body from his fall, was soothing and so very rewarding.
"I give up." he sighed, rolling onto his back and just floating back to the beach where his bond Daervin was waiting in his boat.
"It's a good day for swimming!" Mordinaiith called out, "Jump in!"
Daervin shrugged and decided he could use a cold shower after the frustrating flight. Without removing his clothes the sailor dived into the cool ocean and swam toward his dragon.
The two, CIqantath and Arajaxth, had regrouped after Mordinaiith's fall and were now closer to Quail. So close that they could almost reach out his tail. Foolishly, Arjaxath tried to pull Quail behind them. 
Quail saw the reaching claws coming from a distance and swooped up, performing a pirhouette in mid air, lashing down his tail on Arjaxath's head when it came within his reach.
"You were paying attention!" Chimera yelled out from where she stood on the plains of Lantessama, excitedly jumping up and down, doing a victory dance. Then her face hardened: "Now, Kill him!" she yelled at her earth and smiled goofily when she saw that people around her were looking at her in a weird way.
"I got carried away..." she said, then softly: "Hurt him! Hurt him!"
While his bond was busy trying to get him to do some very nasty things, Quail hesitated in a moment that he really shouldn't have slowed down. Arjaxath had fallen back after Quail's tail had hit him, and was now too far to get back without the help of his bond.
But Ciqantath was not happy that Quail had hurt his bond. The older dragon immidiately noted Quail's mistake and countered by flinging his whole body toward Quail's, hitting him hard on the side.
Quail let out a high peek of pain before his breath was pushed from his body. His mind was disorientated for a moment before he got control back. He was falling! Quail panicked.
"Get your butt back up there!" Chimera yelled angrily, "He deserves to be killed!"
Drawing strength from his bond's anger, flaring up with all the power of the planet's core, Quail shot up again, his mouth open and snapping at everything that came in front of it. In a blind rage, he grabbed Ciqantath's tail and felt his head being dragged behind as his body got dragged forward by Ciqantath's speed. With a grin on his face, reflected in Chimera's eyes, Quail bit down hard on the rain's tail.
"Aaaah!!!" the rain echoed.
"Go Quail! Go Quail!" Chimera added to her dance.
This woke Quail up from his angry revengeful trance. Now both dragons were flying head to head in the race for Jasmith. "What did I do?" Quail asked himself...
He turned to Ciqantath and said: "Im' sorry... sorry, sorry, I got carried away. You see, my rider, she's a serial killer!"
"Nooo!" Chimera called out on the floor, "It was one murder! no more... and I thought we were bonding at last!"
Ciqantath turned to the earth, looking shocked and puzzled. "Eh... ok, I guess." he said, "Let's just fly."
"You can win." Quail said, "I don't deserve to get a pretty dragoness like Jasmith... I'm Evil!" those last words were cried with a voice full of disgust and followed by Quail's body trailing off as he let himself slow down.
"Noo! Race damn you! Do I have to come up there?!" Chimera yelled from the ground.
"Jasmith my dear... my heart belongs to you, but what will come of our children with my black heart siring them? I will just drift here, until I'm punished enough. Fare well!"
Jasmith turned her head. What had just happened? Who was this dragon to deny her? Damnit! he had stalked her like a schoolboy all the time she had been on Lantessama and now he didn't want her anymore? That was wrong.
To Ciqantath's amazement she turned and flew toward Quail.
"No! No! I cannot have you!" Quail said desperately trying to get away from the sun.
"You shall have me if you want it or not!" she yelled frustrated, grasping empty air where her claws reached.
"Ok, this is too weird, even for me. I'm out of here." Ciqantath said, the sun had made her choice, even if that choice was now fleeing the scene.
But Quail soon saw the distance between him and the sun grow smaller. He had flown a hard mating flight, his strength was running low and she seemed to have more than enough to catch him...
On the ground Chimera suddenly realised something: "Wait!" she thought, her eyes open wide, "I'm a girl... Jasmith's bond is a girl... What am I supposed?"
"Oh... No." she added, turning to the first tall, muscled dragonrider she could see: "You!" she called out, "Get over here! You'll do for the night."
Dragging the man away by his ponytail, all he could do was yell: "Aviath! Help!" before Chimera harshly pushed him down on the bed of the nearest cavern.

Jasmith pushed out the last egg and waited for a moment after the effort, basking in the heat that radiated from the sand.
"Jasmith, my love..." she suddenly heard. It was Quail's voice and her face twisted in a look of frustration when she saw him enter with another bunch of flowers, which would surely turn out to be fazzles. Quail had been running around her, taking care of her every need and just... not giving her the peace and quiet she so wanted.
"Oh! Are these my babies?" he asked, dropping the poor fazzles to the floor.
"Yes, Quail." she nodded, "Six beautiful eggs."
"Perfect, like their mommy." he grinned.
"And no doubt daft like their daddy..." she whispered to the eggs, "But don't worry, mommy will cancel out the weirdest genes."
Jasmith looked back up and sighed when she saw Quail doting over 'his' eggs, placing them carefully all over the sands and covering them with the warm sand. Jasmith could not deny that he had been a perfect mate and father... but why did he want to be around all the time?