A Chase on the Ground

Writers: Avery, Yvonne
Date Posted: 29th November 2017

Characters: F'lin, Kapera
Description: Bronze chases gold and gold chases back
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 7 of Turn 9

Kapera

The problem with gold dragons was that they could be demanding like
children, Kapera thought. For example, when Riyanth wanted to eat, she
wanted to have the feeding pens to herself so she could have the
perfect choice of a meal. If Kapera wasn't paying attention to her,
she would try to bully the other dragons into getting out of her way.
The goldrider tried to get around this by convincing Riyanth to eat
when few were there.

Right now it was close to dusk and the horizon was being painted in
lovely colors. The wings had completed their drills. Many riders and
personnel were in the Dining Cavern eating dinner, and she wanted to
be there, but instead she was heading to stand at the feeding pen. If
Riyanth would quickly take down something and eat it, there might
still be good food left...

The gold dragon was hovering in the air, eying the wherries and
herdbeasts and deliberating on what would taste best. Suddenly, she
turned her head and snorted. }:A bronze is approaching.:{

**So you should make a kill now. Show him how impressive you are,**
Kapera suggested.

}:He might get in my way,:{ the gold huffed.

On the ground, Kapera rolled her eyes. She turned away from the pen to
see if she could see the rider.

The bronze dragon swooped low and his rider dropped gracefully from
his back to land on his feet a bit up the road from where Kapera
stood. F'lin shook his hair out of his eyes and rose out of a crouch,
then raised his hand in greeting as Seneth called to Riyanth. He
walked up the road a bit until they were within a comfortable speaking
distance before addressing her. "Good evening, goldrider. May I join
you?"

}:I will take my wherry first,:{ Riyanth told the bronze in a haughty
tone, diving down into the pen with a roar. The wherries broke as she
pursued them, and she caught one, snapped its back, and dragged it off
to the side to eat.

"Of course you may," she said to F'lin. "I apologize in advance if
Riyanth is a pain to Seneth, I'm sure you know how golds are."

He leaned on the fence beside her, watching Riyanth's teeth flash in
the evening light. "Any attention from Riyanth is good attention in
his eyes."

"Bronzes like the attentions of golds. And aren't their riders much
the same?" she teased.

Riyanth was tearing into the wherry while fixing her eyes on Seneth,
watching to see what he'd do.

F'lin raised his eyebrows at Kapera. "I can't say that I'd say no," he
said. Seneth could have waited until tomorrow to eat, but they'd both
noticed that Riyanth was circling the feeding pens. Kapera wasn't
wrong about both bronzes and their riders liking the attention. The
idea of chasing gold made him feel a little more like himself - even
if the chase was on the ground.

Seneth tilted so that his wings flashed red in the light from the
setting sun. He circled the pens, keeping a respectful distance from
the feeding gold and chasing the panicked wherries around the pen with
his shadow. The gold was watching-- good. He dove suddenly, talons
outstretched, and skimmed over the herd as they scattered. One unlucky
wherry squealed as his claws bit deep into its back. The bronze fell
on it savagely, snapping its neck with an audible crunch as he checked
to see if he still had Riyanth's attention.

Riyanth was indeed watching him pursue the wherry and snap into it.
She made an approving rumble as she watched. }:You hunt well,:{ she
said to Seneth.

Kapera heard the tone in her gold's voice and began to mentally count.
Riyanth's clutch had hatched a few months before Panitath had risen
which meant... **Soon?** she asked the gold.

}:Not yet,:{ Riyanth said, }:but I can consider the bronzes and have
time to make my choice.:{

"I appreciate the company out here. How have you been doing?" she
asked F'lin. She knew it was hard to leave behind a home and wondered
how he was settling in. She had interacted with Rapids' leadership
only in a very vague way - a few exchanges with K'ran about wingriders
as injured ones from his wing moved into hers and then back out again
- but not much with anyone else in it.

F'lin shrugged, watching as Seneth preened for Riyanth. "Well enough.
The last Threadfall passed easily and Dolphin Cove is a beautiful Weyr
to fly back to." His heart squeezed a little at the treacherous
thought. Dolphin Cove might be beautiful, but it was nothing compared
to home. He brushed the melancholy thought away with a boyish grin.
"The scenery's something special."

"Had you been in this area much beforehand?" the goldrider asked him.
"I find it's got better beaches than Windswept and is a prettier Weyr
than Dragonsfall."

"I'll have to take your word for it," he admitted. "Any
recommendations for best beaches around here? I haven't gotten around
to exploring much yet." Too much to do, looking after his riders from
River Bluff. And maybe, if he were honest with himself, he didn't want
Dolphin Cove Weyr to charm him. He waggled his eyebrows at her, trying
to keep things light. "I trust your word completely, goldrider."

"I'd be happy to show you some in person or have Riyanth pass the
images when she's done eating. There's a beach down the east coast
where the sand is more orange. It's got rocks on it you can climb on
in low tide, with these tide pools that fill up with spider claws. You
can't swim there with the rocks, but it's nice to just explore it
with someone or maybe do a picnic."

**Was that...?** She was definitely chasing back. F'lin grinned.
"Spider claws, hmm? If you're interested in a picnic, I could show you
how we cook them at Topaz Sea Hold. Once you have them the Topaz way,
you won't want ordinary spider claws ever again."

"I would absolutely love a picnic," the goldrider replied. "So the
Topaz way is different from other ways? You were from there before
River Bluff?" she asked.

He nodded. "I grew up there. It's no Windswept or Dragonsfall, but it was
home."

"Is it nice to be overflying some lands you know?" She asked. "And in
that case I'm doubly honored to get to learn about a home special
dish."

"I hope you like spicy food. This is a fisherman's dish, not something
for refined palates."

"I think I could be unrefined for a night. And spice can be quite an
adventure," she said leadingly.

"Then we'll definitely have a good time. I like a good adventure
myself." This trip to the feeding pens was turning out to be more of
an adventure than he'd thought!

"It's clearly a shame I didn't spend time talking to you sooner,
F'lin. You seem to be very interesting."

He smiled, and it was actually genuine. "Hidden depths, that's me.
I'll look forward to our picnic so I can discover what's beneath your
surface."

"I could say I have many hidden layers for you to find, hidden
emotional wounds to soothe. Or I could just be an air headed gold
rider with little to interest you," she teased.

He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Maybe I like airheads. You don't know
me, either."

She laughed at the eyebrows. "That's true. You might want to be the
brains in a relationship and be content with a vapid pretty on your
arm."

"Are you applying for the position?" The bronzerider flexed his arm to
show off his biceps, basking in the attention as much as Seneth had
when Riyanth had turned her gaze on his dragon. "Because it's not a
bad arm to hang on to, Weyrwoman. Good and sturdy, if I do say so
myself."

"Impress me with those Topaz spider claws at a picnic and then we'll
talk. I'm sure I could be persuaded to hang on your arm for a Hatching
dance or two."

F'lin bowed. "Challenge accepted, Lady Kapera. Topaz spider claws
haven't let me down yet, so you'll need to polish up your dancing
shoes for Panitath's Hatching."

"I'll make sure to have a nice dress and make sure the shoes are
perfect," she promised him.

Riyanth had finished her wherry and gone for a second while the riders
talked. The gold settled a little bit closer to Seneth as she ate,
darting glances over at him to see if he was appreciating how she'd
taken it down. If her rider was going to flirt, so should she.

The bronze finished his meal and crept a little closer to the gold
dragon as she ate. }:Your claws are sharp, your teeth are long. You
could eat many wherries,:{ he said with admiration.

}:I could eat four wherries!:{ Riyanth declared, basking in the
praise. }:My rider says I should leave some for others but I think she
is wrong. I deserve many.:{

}:Yes, you do.:{ Maybe more wherries would make Riyanth slower, and
then he'd have a better chance at catching her when she rose. She was
fast in the air and her wide wings took her very far. Seneth eyed her
meal. }:I could catch a wherry for you.:{

}:I will watch you hunt and see how good you are at providing,:{
Riyanth said to him. Perhaps if he did well she would think more about
him. She liked a bronze to provide for her.

Seneth opened his wings and leaped into the air. Wherries cried out in
terror as his shadow crossed their backs. Which was the fattest, the
juiciest... the bronze dragon picked out one unfortunate beast and
dove, claws outstretched. He hit it hard and bit down on its neck
before it could struggle. It was limp in his claws as he took to the
air and brought his prize back to the gold, laying it out neatly on
the grass between them before retreating a safe distance.

Riyanth's eyes were fixed on Seneth as he struck and then brought it
near her. She slowly moved over and tore out a bite. }:Very nice,:{
she said to him.

Kapera turned to watch Seneth bring Riyanth a meal. "Oh no, she's
convinced him to provide. I feel almost sorry for him."

"Oh, he likes it." F'lin leaned against the fence, although he was
still watching the goldrider instead of the dragons. The sun had fully
set and it was getting harder to see the dragons in the dying light.
"Besides, I'll get to do the same for you when we go on that picnic -
only I promise to cook your spider claws instead of serving them up
raw. Maybe it's a bronze thing."

"And you're a perfect bronzerider, hmm?" She turned back to him and
smiled. "I'm looking more and more forward to this."

Last updated on the December 10th 2017

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A Chase on the Ground