Flight 33

Undroth surveyed her chasers. She had returned to lantessama more by chance than by careful planning, the timing to fly here had just been right. So she wasn't unfamiliar with at least two of her chasers. Iolite Angid and Jade Meryk were well-known staffers of Lantessama isle so Undroth knew the stargazing romantic deep blue and the bordering on lazy green males. But three others had also signed up. There was black Taviorth who looked festive with his green spots and was a big sweety. Copper-Black Basanath also looked very dashing with his red and white points. He might be a bit older than Undroth, but he too was in essence a sweety. Lastly, Amethyst Jotath was a calm and thoughtful dragon who was probably the youngest out of Undroth's suitors.
Five was plenty as Undroth didn't think she could outfly a bigger group. She had been training and was fairly confident but too big a group would just be overpowering and she dreaded the thought of dragons crashing into each other. Which was why she turned to the five waiting males and announced:
"I'm going to rise now. Please stay fair."
The dragons nodded in agreement and Undroth felt assured enough to start. She jumped up and sped away, instantly being chased by the five dragons who kept a distance from each other. None of them were impulsive and they observed the turquoise-winged green dragoness as she flew straight and executed a few dips to test the winds. It was Taviorth who made the first move. He lunged forward and tried to grab Undroth's tail but it was too soon and the emerald female twirled away, sending Tavorth spiralling down and dropping out. As if a switch had been flipped, the four remaining chasers got serious. Angid climbed, hoping to catch Undroth from above while Meryk found that too much effort. He dropped down and hoped for Undroth to drop as well in an effort to evade Angid. Unfortunately for him, she rolled sideways and Meryk had to exert more energy than he had in the last full day to keep from getting pummeled by a diving dark blue dragon.
Only two dragons remained in the running. Undroth led them back to lantessama, weaving herself around the mountain peaks in a more dangerous trajectory. Amethyst Jotath had to drop back but the agile Copper-Black Basanath with his athletic bond Chacety was experienced enough in these types of flight to have the upper hand. Basanath also noticed that Undroth was getting winded and he made a few lightning-fast maneuvres that brought him right on her tail and he grabbed hold with confidence.
"You'll have to settle for me." he said.
"I don't think I have a complaint." Undroth retorted.
Down below, Stevan watched as Chacety approached.
"Don't worry boy, you're a few decades to young for me. Now maybe if you were in your forties I'd be tempted. But let me tell you about..." and Stevan was treated to a long lecture on the human body, sports and how to get the most out of training.

Hatching 33

Two pairs of draconic eyes looked lovingly at the eggs that started to wobble.
"They're finally hatching." Undroth sighed.
"I can't wait to finally see our little ones." Basanath agreed.
Both dragons had requested a lot from the staff of Lantessama and had nearly driven their bonds to exhaustion with their demands. They'd meticulously taken care of their eggs. Someone had joked that none of these eggs had gone without bodily contact for even one single minute. And that might actually be true as both dragons had quite the maternal instinct. But those with experience in such matters expected a lot of this clutch, especially if they found a worthy bond to further nourish their needs. Not too many candidates had been found but there were plenty of locals around to care for any that would not bond. Gella was the first candidate to arrive on the scene. He had ran, climbed and dug his way to the sands as fast as had been shifter-possible when the draconic hum had started. Several regular ground squirrels and moles had gathered at the edge of the valley between the mountains, observing and waiting for instructions. Coraalli was close behind, the gold-red linyaari looked elegant with her lean build, her hooves scraping at times. Despite the cooler weather, she was only dressed in a tank top and shorts. Last official candidate to arrive was Petra, the mother of twin boys, had been busy setting up trading relationships. Ever the capable business woman she had not let her candidacy go to waste.
"Take care of our babies." Basanath said solemnly, "Or...." the sweet and nurturing dragon then faltering to follow up with a threat.
"Or we'll come find you!" his bond finished for him with all the authority of a Decurio.
"Yes, that."
As if the eggs had waited for that promise, all four of them cracked right then and 4 duo-toned hatchlings fell out. A bright rainbow of colours appeared on the sands and the spectators gasped as they tried to make out which colours belonged to which individual.
The first hatchling to get up and make their way to the candidates was orange with pink wings. Bright, cheerful and social, the baby male was quite interested in the skittish furry shifter with all his little friends.
"Are they coming with us?" Furdinyth asked.
"Ehm... probably not." Gella admitted.
Furdinyth's excitement dimmed and Gella soon followed up with: "But there are always squirrels and moles nearby and they come when I call. We can always make more friends."
"I love that!" his new bond exclaimed.
A dark blue hatchling with lighter blue wings stuck her nose in the air and flapped her wings.
Coraalii laughed when she caught the whispered querie.
"Yes I can hear you just fine, Minzath!"
The tanzanite blue female seemed to take much satisfaction in the reply and hopped her little therapist self toward the youthful healer. She might not be talkative but she was a great listener.
Another female, this one beige with brighter yellow wings, asvanced. She was much more down to earth than her sister. In fact, she'd set her mind on a certain trader and walked in a straight line toward her chosen.
"I think we'd work together well." Nelzath proposed.
"I'm certain we will." Petra replied.
People watched as the last dragonet, a green-winged purple, sat on the sands. Calm and pensive, he'd waited for his siblings to bond. Now there were no candidates left... but that wasn't how Waokinth saw it. There was someone with plenty of hands left. Plenty of little hands that could get in those hard to reach places and would be able to scritch and scratch any itches he might get. Getting up, the hatchling stretched, flexed and then headed over to Gella.
"Do you have room for one more?" Waokinth asked.
"The more the merrier." Gella nodded.
Cheers and applause followed the newly formed pairs as everyone headed for the waiting buffet.

Gella (m) and Rhodonite-Amber Furdinyth (m)
Petra (f) and Citrine-Topaz Nelzath (f)
Coraalii (f) and Sapphire-Tanzanite Minzath (f)
Gella (m) and Emerald-Amethyst Waokinth (m)

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