Xanadu Weyr - Feeding Grounds
A large portion of the eastern edge of the meadow has been fenced off, the corralling on three sides is located on the rolling meadow, while the fourth is located a short way up on the eastern hills. Within the large corral are a variety of beasts - ovines, bovines, and wherries - milling around, though the appearance of a dragon may send them one way or the other to try and escape. A small pond is set near one corner of the enclosure, and at times it reflects the low, bordering mountains.
It's all happened rather suddenly this time, that telltale glow and the resulting inebriating effect on Thea thanks to that the mindlink she shares with her lifemate. Someone really ought to tell proddy Weyrwomen NOT to go flying. They really should. Alas, she either didn't listen or the person forceful enough (that would be D'had in most cases) to keep the Weyroman grounded simply wasn't around when she buckled into that harness and -tried- to go somewhere. Tried because she's obviously been hijacked. By her own queen. Seryth takes to the skies when directed aloft, but instead of gaining in altitude, her cry of invitation echoes across the evening skies of the Weyr as she glides in low over the trees into the feeding grounds. She's ignoring Thea's slightly slurred, but obviously annoyed protest, "We're going the WRONG WAY!" Too impatient to wait for her rider to dismount, the queen simply pounces on a beast and begins to blood, ignoring the woman's attempt to urge the gold with, "Let's LEAVE ALREADY. You don't NEED a snack!"
Roused from paperwork by Inimeth's sudden insistence that Seryth is rising, D'son comes running across the Weyr from direction of the weyrleader offices. He arrives at the fence, out of breath and blinks in surprise as he spots Thea atop the gold's back. "Thea! Get down!" he calls out immediately and starts to climb the fence even as Inimeth launches into the pens to tackle a beast of his own.
X'hil is in Xanadu to visit family, leaning on the edge of the feeding grounds fence, beside a young man who looks somewhat similar. His brother? Perhaps. The men are watching a blue dragon hunt, idly chatting. "…and then he /fainted/, right there." X'hil is saying, chuckling to himself. The chuckle stops /dead/ at the approach of Seryth, and the man pales as Kinseth leaps the feeding ground fence, charging after a beast. "A'li, take Najimeth, and /go/. /Now/." he issues clipped orders, and the bluerider nervously follows. The blue seems reluctant to leave his half-eaten beast, but he obeys his rider, for once. This is not chaos of his making, he has no interest in it. Kinseth snatches up the blue's abandoned beast - why waste energy hunting - and starts to blood.
Having just won a goldflight before they left Western, K'ael thinks he's safe from Azaeth's raging hormones for a while. Of course things tend to go a bit differently when the senior queen is involved. But didn't Dels -just- become weyrleader? When the sirens go off K'ael has to run out of the bathing caverns in just a towel, his clothes held in one hand as he makes the pounce to grab one of Azaeth's straps. He's managed to get most of the buckles undone, except a few that are stuck on one side. And as a result the bronzer is being dragged through the muddy Xanadu ground trying to wrench the last of Azaeth's straps from the gargantuan bronze. "Aaaaaaaaaaa!" One last tug before the fences combined with Azaeth leaping over them separate the straps from the bronze, and sends K'ael backwards into a nice puddle muttering. Azaeth hurdles himself down onto on of the close-by beasts with a sickening crunch.
Atop Seryth and becoming vaguely aware that the herd is no longer bunched at the far end of the pens, but racing around again, Thea frowns, "What the-" coughing on that rising dust interrupts her and she's squinting at the flapping, leaping dragons that have joined them. She's heard her name in there? Turning to peer at D'son, wait, there's two of them. Narrowing her eyes - that's better - she asks him, "Why?" It's aggrieved-sounding not at -all- like her usually serene cheerful self. "My paperwork's done, I just want-" mumblemutter. And she's yeah. Gonna have to have it out with HIM now, apparently. She undoes her buckles and tumble-slides off the queen recklessly to land in the soft earth (rain came in handy?) on hands and knees just at about the same moment Seryth raises her head to carol a welcome to the arrivals and a forlorn farewell to that departing blue.
"Come on Thea, get /out/ of the pens," D'son calls urgently to the Weyrwoman and starts to go over the top rail. "She's /rising/ shardit!" K'ael's loud cry draws his attention briefly and Dels does a spectacular facepalm at the sight of muddy Mikey in a towel, but then he drops down inside the feeding grounds, his goal to get to Thea and get her back out of the way of stampeding beasts and dragons before she gets trampled. Inimeth leaves off blooding for a moment, head whipping around and he leaps over to scatter some of the beasts, intending to make a clear path for Seryth's rider and his own with a loud bugle.
X'hil isn't staring at Thea, he isn't staring at Thea, he isn't… oh, hell, he's been staring ever since he sent that blue pair away. It's, uh, not the most /conventional/ entrance to a flight, after all. There's a wince as she tumble-slides to the ground, but Seryth's carol diverts his attention at last, the man turning a red face to stare at the gold instead. He wasn't staring at Thea, no! Kinseth seems much more, well, capable than his rider, as he's done with that half eaten beast - it /was/ half eaten, after all - and is now pacing the feeding grounds, utterly unconcerned with the stampeding beasts, he's preoccupied, looking for a nice juicy one. Only the best will do! Seryth? Caroling at him? Kinseth pays no heed. There's beasts to blood! He can woo her later, in the skies.
K'ael grunts a bit, getting himself upright and into a slightly more dignified position of not-in-the-mud. He looks down at himself and sighs, then works at getting his clothes back on even though everything is nicely covered in mud. Azaeth for his part is lapping up as much of the blood as he can manage, chewing at its neck until it's most a beast-paste. He gives a trumpet in response to the queen, but it's a bit garbled as the bronze's mouth is full. During the trumpet, a bit of neckbone goes shooting out of Azaeth's mouth and clunks another beast in the head, who looks startled but can't figure out where it came from. Gold flights are always a stressful time for the herdbeasts. As for Azaeth, he's stalking and then slashing his next victim.
Thea should get out of the pen before a stampeding herdbeast runs her over, but that's easier said than done. She tries to stand up, wobbles with a drunken flail and lands back on hands and knees. She gives it up and begins crawling, making her way over towards D'son all the while she's becoming increasingly caught up by Seryth's rising desire… and joy. The gold stretches her neck to give Inimeth an approving muzzle-nudge for his help, eyes the others in a 'you're mine too' sort of way and returns to her kill. Thea continues her course, such that it is, towards D'son, reaching him as his shout finally, dimly makes it's way into the haze that is her brain. Puzzled, she reaches for a hand up. "No she's not!!!" Emphatic, she's dead certain of that. "She CAN'T be, s'way too early." Though, mind this does not explain her attempt to greet D'son with a nuzzle to his neck in unconscious mimicry of Seryth's to Inimeth. Or the slow-smiled comment to the now-dressing K'ael that follows, "Nono, just leave those off, hmm?" Or to X'hil with a fluttered-lashed greeting of, "Hi Babe."
Taking Thea's hand, D'son helps her to her feet with the goal of supporting her out of the pen the rest of the way, but that nuzzle to his neck coincides with Inimeth's bright croon to answer Seryth before the big bronze leaps onto another beast to drain it dry. The Weyrleader lets out a low sound and pulls Thea to him to plant one heck of a kiss on her, caught up in the moment. When his head clears, he gasps out: "Shells! Sorry!" and then he's heading back for the fence, post-haste, tugging Thea along with him.
X'hil really should consider himself lucky his eyes were fixed on Thea, as the comment to K'ael has him looking that way, and then quickly looking away. Nope… nothing to see there. Moving on! "Uh…. hi?" he replies, voice rather higher in pitch than intended. Poor guy, nervous? It's just a flight. A leadership flight, but still, a flight. D'son's kiss has the visiting bronzerider's eye twitching all of a sudden, but, if he /will/ insist on keeping his distance, what right has he to complain? Kinseth snags a beast finally, a pair of them actually, pinning them to the ground with his front paws, draining first one, and then the other. He raises his bloody muzzle to the sky, and lets out a mighty roar. These other bronzes? Pffft, weaklings, no contest! This flight is aaall Kinseth's, oh yes. The bronze's roar seems to send his rider retreating even further. Embarrassed? Perhaps. But he fixes his eyes on Thea now, entranced, if… distant.
K'ael blinks a bit at Thea. "What?" Is his only response to 'leave them off'. There's a tiny 'but I'm cold…' from the bronzer. Not to mention that in the course of a few minutes it'll be crude and perverse for him to be walking around nekid. There's a bit of a snicker though as he watches Dels dipsmooch Thea. "Nice." The bronzer at least manages to get his pants on before things spiral out of his control. He grins at X'hil, though that's more than just a friendly look. It looks like he might leap out and eat him or something equally as unpleasant. Azaeth seems to be more interested in getting some blood in him, he's laying on the latest kill and squeezing it like a tube of toothpaste up from the rump.
Blooding dragons? Terrified herdbeasts hurtling by within inches? Thea's oblivious to this, returning that kiss in a way that would horrify her mother out here in the open and in public. When her lips are free to do so, she's got a drawling, "For what?" in response, but the tug on her hand has her reeling after him towards the fence, ducking through the bars in a very un-Thea-like giddy lack of grace. If K'ael doesn't have those clothes on already she's aiming to interfere with the process. She’s weaving in his direction while keeping a-hold of D'son's hand, reaching for K'ael's shirt and tugging playfully, even as her gaze seeks X'hil to send him a wink and a head-jerk that can only read, 'come on over'. In the grounds, Seryth flirts in similar fashion between the three bronzes, managing to blood another ‘beast. Her launch is sudden, explosive and oddly silent, the motion echoed in Thea's brain that sends her off-balance yet again held up by shirt and hand, it's a sort of swinging motion that results.
Switch up! D'son gets tugged along, a goofy-giddy grin on his face as he threads his fingers through Thea's and follows after her as she goes to accost K'ael. If he looks particularly into that idea … it's a flight right? Meanwhile, Inimeth has gotten serious about blooding, adding to the mess in the pens his thoughts bent on Seryth however, green tendrils winding her way with whispers of promise. She knows what he can do for her. When she goes up, off Inimeth goes too, mind full of glee for her sudden leap.
X'hil backs up into a herdbeast, and /jumps/! And was that a girlish 'auugh!' just there? No, not from X'hil, never. Ahem. The man really should watch where he's going. He hops over the feeding grounds fence, just going to wait on the /other/ side of it, but he was right up against it to begin with, so he hasn't gone far. K'ael is eyed, warily. What's that /look/ for? Thea's wink, well, that just overrides what little sense he had, apparently, as he starts moving back towards the woman, and the other men. His expression seems confused, though. 'Why are my feet moving? No, no, I want to be over /there/, what's going on?' Kinseth isn't distracted by his worrisome rider, no. He's snared another beast, when Seryth takes to the sky. There's a frustrated rumble, as he glances from his un-blooded kill, to the gold, and back again. Which to focus on? The herdbeast is discarded, dead but not blooded, and he takes off after Seryth. Hopefully the lack of that beast won't impact his stamina later on.
K'ael blinks a bit as Thea is grabbing hold of his shirt as soon as he gets it back on. He gives her a sly look. At least X'hil isn't getting the ravenous stare anymore. Though the bronzer is reaching around Thea's backside in a way that ought to earn him a slap. Maybe Dels will punch him. As for Azaeth, there's a no hesitation from him. He didn't get his third beast in, either. And given his size… he really needs it. But no matter! The bronze unfurls his iron-ribbed wings and pushes them down with a tremendous amount of force. The displaced air topples over a smaller close-by heardbeast. Azaeth is airborn now. The ascent was always the hardest part for him, it took a lot of energy to get his mammoth musculature off the ground.
Aww, K'ael got that shirt back on? Thea's pout is definitely half-bereft, half determined to get it back off as she wobbles there tugging at the material in much the way Seryth up there in the sky vocally tugs at her pursuers to hurry and catch up. Her wings reach for the sky, eating up the distance taking her high into the purple-pink of a rare jeweled sunset, the haze of departing rain clouds sprinkling mistily on those green tendrils of Inimeth's. If Thea were herself, she'd do the punching and gladly, but it's likely this is as lucky as K'ael is going to get tonight - she's busy rewarding X'hil with the only approving smile the poor man has ever gotten or is likely to ever get again from her. There's something else tugging at her, however, that something has her turning to give D'son a dreamy-eyed look as if he'd just whispered the sweetest thing in her ear, yet there's been no words exchanged audibly.
D'son steps up closer to Thea, free hand aiming to circle her waist as she gives him that look. There's quite a lot of heat in his own gaze, but no he doesn't seem inclined to do any punching either. Inimeth soars after Seryth, sun-dapples slanting along green to meet that misty sparkle. He's looking to gain height and speed for the long haul, however long Seryth aims to lead this dance. Dels' fingers tighten in Thea's though a moment later and he clears his throat. "Weyr?" he suggests generally.
X'hil tilts his head at Thea curiously. An… approving smile? Really? It seems to put a little bit of a spring in his step… that is, until she turns to D'son. The man grimaces, and comes to a stop. But he doesn't move away, at least? It's… something. Progress, of a sort. Poor timid bronzerider, flights and him really don't mix well. Kinseth is in his element, however. There's nothing he cares more for than chasing a pretty (read: glowing) gold across the skies. Well, nothing besides /catching/ said gold, that is. He makes haste at Seryth's calls, fired up at the encouragement. He pushes himself harder than he probably should, straining to catch up, to catch /Seryth/. D'son's suggestion of a weyr has X'hil paling again, gulping involuntarily. Right… it's a flight, of course. He moves a bit closer, not wanting to be left out. What if Kinseth catches? What if, indeed. The bronzes efforts seem to be felt by the rider, as he's tugging at his shirt collar, the top few buttons popping open, though he doesn't seem to notice.
K'ael blinks at Thea. "What the-" And the shirt is off again! Ah well. K'ael will just man up and be cold. "Weyr." K'ael is nice enough to start shoving everyone in the direction of the gold weyrs. Unfortunately K'ael wouldn't find spending a flight win session with Thea 'lucky'. The bronzer doesn't intend on being weyrleader again. And he's got a weyrmate to help combat the flight-loss blues. Azaeth is racing upwards towards Seryth's sunkissed hide. This wasn't a dance, it was a battle! At least it was in Azaeth's mind, which is flashing with violent oranges and reds as the chase continues.
"Mmmhmm…" is Thea's dazed agreement, leaning into D'son a little, her head turning reluctantly to search out the nearby guest weyr and waver dizzily at least one step in that direction all the while retaining her grip on K'ael's shirt. If he doesn't follow it's going to rip, not that she'd mind. And X'hil? He's given a sensuous smile over her shoulder, her tumultuous thoughts plain on her face. K'ael's shirt slips off then and as her balance is lost, her fingers tighten on D'son's. Up in the skies Seryth slows, perhaps she's tiring or it may be she wants to play, her blood-fueled grace giving her the agility to swoop and dive between the males. The rest of the Weyr? Surely feeling the fallout by now, but at least they're nearing the door to that guest weyr even if the progress is erratic.
Weyr. Definitely. D'son step-stumbles in that direction, which might make for rather /awkward/ a progress towards said weyr given Thea's continued grip on K'ael. Oh hey. Shirtless K'ael. Briefly Dels' gaze lingers /there/ instead of on Thea and then he gives a shake of his head, re-focuses as the Weyrwoman's fingers tighten on his. "WHoa there …" he breathes out and his arm circles her again to lead the way off to that waiting weyr. Inimeth meanwhile is all about the thrill of this chase, this flight and Seryth gleaming just ahead to carry him onward. He's hers. All hers. Just like last time, matching some of her swoops to make it all back into that dance in the air.
X'hil glances up to the dragons in the sky, and flushes bright red. As everyone else heads off to the guest weyr, he… follows. More or less. He's lagging behind a bit, and walking a little slowly, but he's on his way. He groans slightly. "Cen…" he murmurs, another glance in the direction of Kinseth, but there's nothing he can do now. His eyes widen, sensing something, and he quickens the pace towards the guest weyr. He's trying to keep his eyes on the ground in front of him, but they keep drifting upwards of their own accord. Eyes lingering on Thea, back to the ground, on K'ael's shirtless back, back to the ground, on the stumbling D'son, back to the ground, and so on. Kinseth's energy is flagging, he really should have blooded that last beast, but he cries out in defiance. He /will/ keep going, he /will/ be the one to catch! Wings pump furiously, if falteringly, and he struggles to catch up to Seryth, tail lashing about like a furious feline's, trying desperately to snag Seryth's own with it.
K'ael is free! Free at last! He tries to force his legs to move in the direction opposite of the weyrs, but he can't. Instead he's moving with everyone else towards them. The flight was coming to a rapid conclusion though, so soon enough he'd be back in control. Meanwhile in the air Azaeth has been unceremoniously bumped by a smaller brown who shouldn't even be chasing! How dare he! There's a moment where Azaeth is distracted while he remove the brown from the line up by swinging his weight against him. Unfortunately it puts him at a severe height disadvantage as Seryth is making her closing moves. He rushes up to join the entrapment of dragons as they move in to catch her.
Thea's still clutching K'ael's shirt, her arm waves to swish the material across the man's bare chest, pale eyes seeking to catch X'hil between one of those ground-directed eye-darts of his as if in attempt to reel him in with eye-contact alone. Away off, high amongst the wisps of magenta clouds, Seryth's hide is gilded with the last faltering fingers of the sun as it relinquishes its hold on the day. The queen dodges that brown, spirals around Azaeth, grazing his belly with a teasing wingtip, but it is Inimeth she tangles with, her clarion jubilation ringing across the darkening skies. And Thea? There's naught but a low, throaty laugh from her at that 'whoa there' of D'son's, swaying into that support he's lending her, which is a good thing seeing she doesn't have the where-with-all to navigate the steps leading into that guest weyr. She drops K'ael's shirt, forgotten in the mud, poor (lucky?) X'hil no longer exists, her other arm encircling D'son to keep from tripping over that step.
As Seryth falls into Inimeth's grasp, the bronze's answering jubilation is broadcast far and wide over the Weyr. D'son's eyes cross for a moment but his next move is to swing Thea up into his arms to carry her off into the guest weyr, mouth already seeking hers for a hungry lip-lock that might make one wonder how exactly they make it out of sight /without/ tripping, but hey, somehow, it's managed. Above, Inimeth lets out another happy bugle as he and /his/ queen tumble from great height toward the ground, wrapped tightly around each other.
X'hil's eye twitches, and he tilts his head to twitch it in the direction of the sky. "Kinseth, you lost? How could you?!" he complains, really completely unaware that he's said that aloud. Huh, so he /can/ talk, after all? He's been very quiet thus far. There's a quietly furrowed brow. Wait. Did he /want/ to win? Be Weyrleader, again? No… no. Never. Kinseth cries out in frustration - he /missed/? He's /Kinseth/, he doesn't /miss/! But, there's nothing that can be done about it /now/, so he turns tail - possibly not-accidentally thwapping the successful bronze with his tail - and glides back down to the feeding pens. There's a dead beast there he might as well eat, that might make him feel better. X'hil's eyes are widening. "No, Kinseth! You can't between after eating!" he cries out, running back to the pens.
As Seryth tumbles past Azaeth there's a surprised sounding bugle from him. But that was that, and he floats back down to the ground in defeat. K'ael form his part gives Thea a sharp look as his shirt is dropped into another puddle. He fishes it out with a grumble, and then heads back towards his weyr. There's a blink at X'hil as he goes back towards the feeding pens. At least he doesn't have to between to get home!