Flight 9
Sun Secarath and Rayant Nasionalth

Sun Secarath growled as she awoke. There was a sudden feel of superiority about the day that was quite pleasant to feel. Without much consideration to anyone's nightrest she got up and let herself fall from the cavern she and her rider had been given at Lantessama. It was odd to think of it as cavern and not as weyr so Secarath secretly kept calling it weyr. Thinking of that little secret made her feel even more special. She never once considered the fact that half the dragons at Lantessama called their caverns weyrs... why should she?
Secarath carefully spiralled down in the cool night air of Lantessama. No-one had seen her yet, her golden hide darkened in the shadows. She hovered above the animal pens and decided on which piece of cattle to feed on.
"Blood... not feed." the sleepy voice of her rider Mireille reached her.
Even in her subconscious she still tried to do what was best for her queen. Secarath had to admire that, but not for too long. Because today, was her day. Her flight.
The sun dragon blooded a few kills and then flew high up in the sky. She waited there for a few seconds, but still no-one had awoken... no-one had seen her. Was that watch dragon blind? She looked to one of the higher peaks where the watch dragon was supposed to be. And in fact there was a watch dragon. The silver hide of a moon was down below her, the eyes of the dragon on her.
"Why do you not chase me?" she asked the moon.
"I am more of a one that likes to be chased." the moon answered her amused.
"A female?!"
"From the day I hatched." the moon laughed. "Try bugling."
Secarath pondered a moment about the bugling. It wasn't how she had envisioned it... but then she could wait here for hours. And in the night she still had some advantage. After a little scraping of her throat Secarath opened her mouth wide and bugled in the night. Pleased she saw eyes opening all around the mountain peaks. The dragons were stirring.
"Catch me!" she yelled down and then flew away as fast as she could. A part of her wanted to get caught, but that part was still talking with a silent voice compared to the one that was screaming: "You'll never get caught!"
Down in the isle dragons woke up and launched themselves from their cavern entrances. Riders hastily stirred, asking their dragons what had happened. But the consternation from most of the male population was nothing compared to the consternation in Mireille's cavern. She too had been awakened by the bugle, but unlike most of the other riders she knew very well what the bugle meant. 
"Secarath!" she cried out, "What have you done!"
"Nothing, rider mine. I am just flying."
"But you haven't even been placed on the board!" Mireille said and silently adding: "What about your promise to let Nasionalth catch you?"
"Don't keep your thoughts from me... I can read them anyway. As for Nasionalth, he'll just have to catch me." Secarath said bluntly.
From a nearby cavern Ikron rushed into Mireille's Cavern. He was barely dressed though Mireille didn't notice that in her state. She was partly with Secarath flying, getting excited at the thought of all those males trying to catch her... but the other part, her true mind was sad and unwilling.
"What's happening?" he called to her, "Nasionalth just took off and won't talk to me!"
"Secarath's flying... and invited the whole isle to catch her." Mireille said crying.
Ikron kneeled down beside his lover and hugged her tight. "Now I know why Nasionalth isn't wasting time to talk to me. He is looking for her."
"But there must be a hundred males out there obscuring his sight!" Mireille said, "What if he's not the fastest?" she asked him frightened.
"Let them try get past me. I won't let anyone take you from me. Not after what I have sacrificed for you." Ikron promised her passionately. He too was getting back some excited feelings from his rayant now. Nasionalth had apparently found a lead.
High in the air the rayant hovered above most of the other colours. Where he was flying only a few opals and other rayants were also looking for the gold female seemingly only just out of their reach. But Secarath was nowhere to be seen, she knew better.
When she looked down however she noticed that she hadn't gone unnoticed for all. A small blue male, barely old enough to be a fledgeling flew below her, trying to fly higher and higher. The determined look on the dragon's face moved her, but she wasn't about to let herself be caught by a youngster half her age. 
Secarath flew higher and raced away from the blue. In doing so however she exposed herself. For a single moment she flew through the white rays of the moon and stars, her hide glowing like a beacon to all who were looking her way.
"I see her!" Nasionalth yelled through the telekinetic link with his bond and took off, as did about 20 other males, closely followed by the ones who hadn't seen the sun, but who followed the others trying to keep up. 
Secarath started a long series of exhausting manoeuvres to drive of the smaller dragons. The male blues, greens and purples soon found themselves low on energy though a few of the Lantessama born kept pursuing the female. To her amusement Secarath even saw a few opals racing past her, trying to be fast enough to lure her into an ambush a little down the way.
Too bad for them she wasn't really in the mood yet to be caught. The thrill of the chase, of being stronger and faster than all those males behind her was too much of a feeling to give up this soon. And by the way, she didn't really want to get caught by an opal she hadn't met already.
Plummeting down she evaded the opals and their plans. Of course flying down like this opened the flight back up for the dragons who couldn't fly as high. Old world browns and blues continued their chase, their hopes renewed by the gold's sudden fall.
Secarath turned and led her pursuers in a wide U-turn to the ocean. When she raced over the waves, not so much as slowed a fraction of her original speed most of the blues and greens let her go. There would be other females in the future. 
Even so there were still plenty of dragons following her. The majority rayant, flame, silver and earth. Here and there a patch of blood red or opal white lighted the stream of chasers. Relentless Secarath launched herself into another set of manoeuvres to shake of at least half of her followers. Again she climbed higher, straining to reach the moon. 
Nasionalth followed his mate, carefully ducking as dragons fell from the sky, drained from their energy or in packs of two or three dragons that had collided in mid air. He too rose, though he started to feel tired he wouldn't leave his queen now that she was so close. He knew he still had an advantage over some of the other dragons who had flown all over the isle looking for Secarath. When he reached the highest point in the loop Secarath had led them in he looked down. Only 5 dragons were now chasing his queen. He, two more rayants, a flame and an earth. Looking closely, the earth was breathing heavily and just about to give up. Perfect, one less to worry about.
Secarath too looked back and was pleased to see Nasionalth was still in the running. But he would have to do a little better if he expected to win her heart.
Halfway up the mountain-side Mireille and Ikron were only barely aware of their human bodies. Both were now dragons, flying in an exhilarating ballet. They came closer and closer. Breathing, feeling, wanting... yearning, but still it was not time yet give in. Some small part of them needed to stay aware of the flight, needed to keep track of who won.
Secarath rushed into a large front of clouds drifting over the calm water of the sea. Her hide became dampened and wet as she flew through the mists. It was harder for her to see now, but it would be the same for the males who entered after her. 
Rushing in and out of the covering white protection she kept an eye on her suitors. Most of them fell back, searching the clouds without knowing she had already left the first front and had entered a second. On her tail now were only one rayant, Nasionalth and the flame.
With only three more chasing her, she eased a bit. Let the first one catch her. She hovered in a small pocket of air that made her look like she was on entirely different planet. If she fell down, would the soft fluffy white hold her? Probably not, but maybe she could try it out later...
Finally the flame jumped into her vision. The male thought for a moment, deciding if there was maybe a mountain behind her where he would crash if he missed her. But apparently he decided against it. He rushed forward.
Secarath sighed a bit. It wasn't Nasi, but apparently this one was the fastest.
"Don't bet on it." Nasi said in her mind.
The rayant, who had flown under the white clouds, reached up and grabbed hold of Secarath's tail. He pulled though Secarath didn't struggle much. Once below the clouds they saw the flame rush over their heads, dazed by her sudden appearance.
"What no mountain for him to crash on?" Nasionalth asked.
"I couldn't run forever... What took you so long to catch me?"
"I don't know... a sun getting it in her head that I needed to prove myself stronger maybe?"
Halfway up the mountain two humans didn't follow the conversation of the two dragons as they drifted back down, arms and tails twisted together. They in fact had better things to do.

Secarath moved in the hatching cave and tried not to disturb the smaller spectral-sunset who was sleeping in the cave. Maybe it had been a mistake to rise so early for a flight since it seemed that her eggs were intent on being laid at night as well. 
Pondering whether or not to wake her rider, Secarath watched as yet another egg appeared. Secarath waited 5 more minutes and was more than a little disappointed to see that no more eggs were coming. She was an old world gold! A sun! How could she only lay 2 eggs?
"Mireille!" she bugled.
Mireille woke up, startled to hear her queen sound upset. For a moment she weighed the sound of her voice. It hadn't been a 'I'm in a fool mood come here so I can call you names' tone and not even a 'I'm bored come entertain me' yell... in stead it seemed like genuine panic with  little irritation. So the sun's rider dragged herself out of her bed at the other side of the hatching cavern, sheltered from the elements by a stone wall. As she got up she nearly tripped over Red Fox, the bond of the other dragon. Carefully Mireille stepped over the sleeping fox and went outside to check up on her dragon.
"What is it, Secarath?"
"There is something wrong with me!" the dragon sent to her.
"You look perfectly well to me, dear." Mireille told her dragon, hoping it was just a mood swing.
"But... but, I only have 2 eggs!"
"Eggs?" Mireille said now fully awake, "Can I see?"
A little embarrassed, Secarath moved away from the eggs she was guarding.
"I count three, Secarath..."
"There were just 2 a minute ago..."
"Well, most likely you haven't finished clutching. Give it some time, at least that's what they told me." Mireille said reciting a little bit of a lesson she had gotten years before. "Let me get Ikron and Nasionalth so they can come too."
Secarath nodded and waited. By the time her mate arrived with his rider 5 eggs were already sheltered in the small space between her body and tail. Nasionalth proudly sat beside his queen and helped her move around her eggs to places more to her liking. It didn't take long before both Red Fox and Arayath too were awake and looking at the spectacle of a broody queen arranging her eggs. Two hours further 7 eggs had been laid and no new ones in half an hour.
"I think you're done." Mireille said, "How do you feel?"
"A little less disappointed, but still not quite happy about the number." Secarath said.
"Poor baby..." Mireille said hugging her dragon, "I told you clutches would be smaller in Lantessama, but you wanted to stay in the sun with Nasionalth." 
"If they are my children they will be the best dragons ever." the rayant dragon bragged.
"What, are they going to grow extra limbs? Or have extra strong fiery breath?" Ikron asked laughing.
"No... But I bet they'll be big!" the rayant said seriously.