Rouxy
Cerulean Weyr Staff
Rouxy of the Jungle
Posts: 345
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Post by Rouxy on Aug 2, 2010 7:49:41 GMT -5
The sun was still just up above the horizon when Rozen felt her wher stir into wakefulness. Not an unusual thing in and of itself, the handler was already awake and in the Great Hall catching breakfast along with everyone else eating dinner. Zeek sat on the table next to her plate, taking his usual pick of her food in delicate bites like the spoiled thing that he was. Eggs were his favorite, but he was also clearly enjoying the fish on tonight's menu, and took a whole piece for himself before Rozen could catch hold of it. The brown scampered away with his prize down the table out of reach with a joyous warble and sat in the middle of a different group of eaters while consuming the whole piece in addition to everything he'd already eaten that night.
The goldhandler chuckled in earnest at her pet's antics, sure she'd be nursing an overstuffed flitter later on that night while his stomach digested all the things he'd eaten. His pleasurable sendings told her that he certainly wasn't thinking of anything but stuffing his face as full as it would go.
Something else rose powerfully to override those -by contrast- more simple emotions, and Rozen froze in surprise as Rozsk bugled a summons to the world and the urge to runrunrun suddenly took hold. Well, it was about time. The gold had been glowing for two days straight now, prowling the night like a beacon and clearly advertising to the wild whers on the island that she was soon to be very available. The wher had not started yet, and Rozen caught a quick flash of her standing at the edge of the jungle in preparedness. The jungle called to the wild part of her, urging her to join it. Her own wild heritage was never more prevalent than when she ran through the trees, leaping, catching, soaring.
The handler calmly but quickly put away her dishes and headed back to the handler apartments. Zeek heard the call for males and despite an overly full belly, winked between to answer his biggold with a chase. She could feel the gold's readiness to begin, but she still paused on the brink of the treeline, for what Rozen wasn't entirely sure, as Rozsk certainly wasn't paying any attention to her. She was used to the gold's runs though, and her obsession with finding the perfect male to create life with.
As if to accentuate her claim, the gold let her voice rise in challenge to the entirety of the island in a barking bugle of authority and command. She was here, and she dared any male to try his best! Rozen settled into the single room the handlers used for Runs, holding her mind ready for when the gold's impulses would take control.
Once more, Rozsk bugled her intentions into the jungle, and then slipped into the trees like a golden shadow as she distantly felt the approach of her males. She dug claws into the nearest huge tree and zoomed straight up, intending to begin this chase in the treetops, but she paused on a large branch in clear sight to the surrounding area, flaring her wings and letting them glitter in the little moonlight that streamed down from the canopy overhead. The brown smallwings that belonged to her and Hers made an appearance out of thin air then, and crooned his love and affection for her. She whuffed at him, her tail tip flicking in anticipation as he flew like a brown halo around her head while singing to her.
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Thorney
Dragonrider
Let's remove the space between me and you.
Posts: 203
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Post by Thorney on Aug 2, 2010 11:42:00 GMT -5
Glorious night. It had come for the brown wher as he stirred, creeping through the jungle silently. Ah, how his blood boiled in the darkness, how his body sang with mastery over the twilight world! There was no creature on Pern that ruled the dark the way whers did, and he knew it well. Others, such as felines, thought to own the night with their prowling feet and keen eyes, but they had no hope to best him or his kind! They were emperors of the shadows, and none would or could change that.
Though a wild wher, the brown was not as large as many of those that ran freely across the island, ranging more towards the middle of their spectrum. His hide was darkly-colored, the hue of good chocolate and difficult to see in the veiled dark. It made his hunting so very easy. Throughout his tough hide, spots of tan could be vaguely seen upon his haunches, as well as a dusting of that same color on his face like freckles. The brown was neither the most handsome nor the most agile of his kind, but he was built tough and strong, his endurance ceaselessly lasting. As he prowled, the wher cautiously sniffed the air, his body tensing. Oh, there was something, something different and strange and wonderful about this night, and he held still, waiting.
There! The call rang through the air like a clarion, ripping through the darkness and beckoning him forward. Leaping quickly, the brown tore through the jungle, his tough paws pounding over the ground rhythmically and scaling fallen trees with ease. A gold, a queen, a lovely female had challenged all of the island, and the brown would answer! Oh, he would answer. Though her call was strong, he could feel her so far away, and the wher pushed himself harder, knowing there were others, closer, bigger, and stronger than he. But no! What a lovely, tempting invitation she had made, and now the gold was calling again, another rising cry echoing about through the trees. The brown lost himself in her voice, and he was a dark blur now, leaping up to sink his claws in trees and push away, opening his wings slightly to glide as far as he could in the dense foliage before dropping down to run again.
Finally, he could feel her so much closer now, but he could also feel others like he closing in on her, and the wher growled lowly, wanting the gold all for himself! The brown leapt a fallen tree and finally beheld the glorious queen, high above them all and her body shining in splendor. Her wings were spread, and she was so magnificent the brown called out to her, sharing his desire with her. Oh, he wanted her, wanted her now and only for him! Snapping at the other males, he darted forward, intent upon the tree she had scaled. Bounding ahead, the wher sank his claws into the wood as he collided with the tree, intent upon the beautiful gold. Calling to her again, the brown quickly used his talons to his advantage, scurrying up the tree as quickly as he could.
He did not think that his impatience would perhaps annoy the queen; he only knew that he wanted to be with her right then! The brown knew other males were there, and other males were bigger and mightier and stronger than he, but that did not deter him from the chase. Oh no! Nothing would keep him from pursing her, nothing could! The wher would only stop when another took her, or death took him.
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Kaemi
Weyrling
Posts: 144
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Post by Kaemi on Aug 2, 2010 13:24:33 GMT -5
Tovsk had been antsy for the past few days- waking up a good candlemark before the sun set, and acting restless until pure nightfall. The previous day, Toven had realized why, having caught a good sight of their resident gold. She was shining, glowing, obviously soon to Run. Of course, this meant two things for him, one: he'd have to deal with the Run, and the lust, and then console Tovsk if he didn't win. Two: he'd soon have wherlings to teach. Shells, that'd mean he'd have to work even harder at the plans he had in the works.
He hadn't thought that the brown would Chase again so soon after... well. But this was a gold's call, hard to resist. Hopefully this would help him- both of them, really. Even if they didn't win, maybe it could help them start to move on. Neither of them had been very social since Isya... or, since they moved to Cerulean. And even if they didn't win the Run, not that he didn't have faith in his Tovsk, but even if they didn't win, it could still be a step forward.
But that was of no matter right now, with Tovsk awake and antsier than ever. He couldn't stay still, thick tail twitching, despite the fact that they had a little under a candlemark before the sun set. Despite all that Toven did, he could not calm his wher, and so he sat stroking the vibrating form while he tried to work on the schedule for his future wherlings. It was when he had to stand to light a glow that Tovsk also stirred, standing, shaking, and then rushing out of the room. In response, his handler didn't light the glow, but instead put aside his papers and made his way to the room used for handlers when they were involved in Runs.
It was very simple for Tovsk: go, find queen, Chase. He was swiftly at the edge of the jungle, eager to prove himself, eager to show his devotion to the Gold Rozsk. She was beautiful and ferocious, wild and regal. And he would Chase to prove his worthiness to be her mate. He may only be a brown, and a small one at that, but he wasn't weak or slow.
The wher stayed silent to his queen's call, not making a sound until she began her Run. He ignored the other males, competing for Rozsk's attention, and instead waited, hushed in the shadows of the trees, until she bugled again and began to race through the trees. His pursuit was quick, but he still wasn't in the front, and when the other males began to respond audibly to her, Tovsk still stayed quiet. He rushed up the tree, his talons scraping the outer vegetation, his eyes intently focused on the glowing golden form.
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Kira
Cerulean Weyr Staff
Evil Mod of DOOM!!!!!
Posts: 266
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Post by Kira on Aug 2, 2010 17:11:51 GMT -5
The little spots of sun filtering down and dancing across his dark hide through the swaying leaves had been just perfect for sleeping. Now, they were almost faded completely, and the dark of the jungle was closing in. Blessed night, and all the secrets it held. Blinking his eyes open with a whirring delight, the blue scratched peels of bark off his chosen perch as he stretched all of his sleep-kinked muscles. And then there was the call. Excitement coursed through him. He had seen the glowing gold prowling - advertising that she would Run soon - when he had been stalking prey near the twolegs and bigwings' place. He had made sure to not stray far after that, content to pick off the meager prey in this area for the chance to Chase a queen. The darkness cast his midnight blue hide as inky black, and only the glint of his softly glowing eyes could be seen as he quietly sped his way through the treetops. He was not large, no, not like some of the browns and the bronzes. But he was fast. And he was quiet. And perhaps he wasn't quite as smart as the bonded-ones were, but he knew how to stalk. She would choose him - and oh, she would - for he would be upon her so unexpectedly that she would indeed be impressed by his skill. He was certain; he was sure. Without a sound, he crept to a perch just in sight of his queen - for oh, she would be his, yes - but centered along the route she would have to take to reach the deeper jungle. She bugled her challenge again, and a shiver of anticipation ran along his hide. The other males were of no importance. Soon, she would Run. And he would chase. .o0O0o. Tess was finally satisfied that the infirmary wouldn't explode if she left it for sleep, and gratefully headed back to her quarters to turn in early. Curling up with a book and a cuddly Jaser seemed like a perfect end to the evening. As if in response to her though, said flit popped out of air to land on her shoulder at full tilt. Stumbling and then laughing at the very normal antics, Tess reached up to scratch his hide and earned a pleased warble. Finally ready for bed with book in hand, Tess was just settling down when she heard the first bugle. She tilted her head for a moment to puzzle it out... It wasn't a dragon, as she didn't think S'lain's chart showed any were ready to Rise anyway... Not a flit- Oh! The new queen wher, of course! That should be interesting. She idly wondered if she'd finally get to see what wher eggs and hatchling whers looked like. Probably cute like most all babies, even if the adults weren't much to look at. Blinking for a moment, she finally realized that Jaser was making an attempt to wriggle out of her cuddle. Sighing with a tinge of a laugh, she rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of Faranth. Fine, go on then!" She released him and shook her head in amusement as he excitedly leapt off to between. She pouted at her book for a moment, then gave up and set it aside. He would probably spend the rest of the night getting 'consoled' by any number of the female flitters on the island when he inevitably 'lost' the Chase of the gold wher. She might as well be asleep and not have to deal with the backlash of that unfortunately familiar feeling. If it ended up waking her up anyway, she was sure she could probably find a friend willing to accomodate.
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Post by Mello on Aug 2, 2010 20:57:02 GMT -5
Finally, the long day was ending. The wild bronze wher stretched his legs carefully, preparing himself for the night. It would shortly be time to take control of the dusky forest, as he knew he was supposed to, and begin his hunt. He enjoyed hunting much more than anything else, feeling the power and thrill of being alive. He was just the slightest bit larger than the average bronze, with a deep color to most of his hide and a lighter shade to his legs and head, giving him a bit of a mismatched look at times.
He felt confident and strong as he shook the last remnants of sleep from his body and began to search the air for the first sign of what would soon become his prey. He had barely had a chance to begin, however, when a call cut through the air. The bronze immediately headed towards the sound. Even though he hadn’t had the intelligence necessary to think about it, he had picked up on the feeling in the air for the past few days, and had crept slightly closer to the place he did not go, the place of the twolegs, every night since then. By that night he was close indeed, and it wasn’t terribly long before he knew he was close.
The bronze was young, and this would be his first run, but that did not deter him in the slightest or make him lose confidence in his own abilities. If anything it made him more confident. He was a bronze, and a big, strong bronze at that. He would have the energy and the power to be successful in this run, and the eggs produced from it would be healthy and strong. It made absolute sense on a level just below thought, instinct and a sense of self inflated by youth combining to create absolute confidence.
When he finally did reach the queen, he spied her in the treetops, evidently choosing to start high up. The bronze didn’t particularly enjoy being high up, however- he found that his size was a bit of a disadvantage if he was trying to move quickly among the lighter branches found higher up, and it was so tiring to stay aloft for too long. But he wasn’t going to give up. He maneuvered himself into what he hoped was a good position, where he could move up if he needed to or after the glowing queen if he didn’t, and watched carefully, body trembling with excitement.
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Rouxy
Cerulean Weyr Staff
Rouxy of the Jungle
Posts: 345
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Post by Rouxy on Aug 3, 2010 10:50:31 GMT -5
She was acutely aware of everything, of each male that arrived and how they arrived, and where they waited for her to begin. Most of them were paying the proper respect. She twitched her tail just the slightest as each new male appeared, and even turned a narrowed gaze on the brown who was so eager he’d actually began climbing -her- tree. She hissed a brief warning at him and his overeager actions, one paw up and claws at the ready should he continue his premature advance.
After a brief moment, she began climbing almost delicately further out onto her solitary branch. The wood began to bow under her not so light weight, and just as the branch gave a loud crack of snapping, the gold launched herself outwards over the heads of her suitors, wings out to catch the best glide as she began the Run with a bark of command.
Angling left around the closest tree, Rozsk lost some altitude and hit the next lowest branch running, using it as a springboard to launch her out and up again. Her claws grasped the rough bark and vines with assured ease as she peeked back for a moment to see who’d caught on the fastest. Darting under a branch and through two others that were closer together, the gold wher angled into a downwards dive to gain a burst of speed and caught at the ground with her agile legs, powering forward through the underbrush, heedless of the small trees and bushes that broke in her rush as she found passage through.
Zeek, momentarily distracted and flaring at the blue who’d arrived -Jaser- had missed the go command and was quickly left behind. He turned with a squeak and worked to make up the huge distance he’d already lost on Hisbiggold, watching the fleeting golden form angle around the trees ahead. He powered forward, flapping madly to catch up, and finally got within sight again as Rozsk hit the ground.
Slipping through the trees, the gold wher kept her wings tucked tightly to avoid getting them caught on something as she pushed her way through. She would only stay on the ground moments, as it gave her smaller pursuers an easier time of catching up. It was too early to loose anyone, and she wanted to see just what these males could offer her. A large bronze, two lovely smallish browns and even a blue had joined after, and she would give each a chance to prove themselves. A loud whistling bark rose and fell from her chest as she reached a large enough tree to begin climbing again, her goal at the very top as she voiced her location yet again.
Rozen jerked as the Run began, slipping a little into her wher's mind. She stood abruptly, needing to -move- and unable to do so sitting in the comfortable chair she'd picked out. She began pacing the room, her eyes moving quickly to identify things of brief interest before discarding them. Her gaze and movement paused as Toven entered, and then she was pacing again, her eyes on him.
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Kaemi
Weyrling
Posts: 144
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Post by Kaemi on Aug 3, 2010 23:36:01 GMT -5
It only took a few moments in the tree that Tovsk determined the tree was just slowing him down. Short seconds later, he jumped from the trunk of the tree and landed on the ground. He made his progress below his queen, instead of on level with her, pulling his wings in close to his body so that they didn't foul on the trees. His small stature worked well for him among the trees, where it might count against some of the larger contestants... really, the only one there that might have problems would be the wild bronze that had joined the Run. Of course, the glorious Rozsk would have no trouble with the trees, no matter what her stature.
The gold soon joined him on the ground, although she wasn't staying for very long, instead taking leaps and bounds. He stayed far enough behind that he wasn't crowding Rozsk, but he always stayed in sight. Tovsk used his agility to avoid the low-lying branches and vegetation that hung in the jungle. It took a more roundabout way, but he knew that he couldn't force through some of the barriers that more powerful whers could. Some things he could power through, but he didn't want to risk finding that a seemingly-weak barrier ended up taking him out of the Run.
So he avoided.
After Rozsk went up yet another tree, however, voicing her bark, the brown took about a moment to determine that it was time to go back up into the air. He darted up another tree, a few yards away from the one his queen was climbing, with the occasional interlocking branch. He darted up, himself, avoiding smaller branches on the way up. It wasn't quite as tall as the one Rozsk was climbing, but it wasn't too far off.
Toven was position up against a wall on the far side of the room. His mind wasn't completely enveloped by his wher's, but it was definitely more covered than usual. He was aware of Tovsk, more so than usual, and saw what he saw... knew what he felt... but he could still see Rozen staring at him as soon as he entered the room.
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Thorney
Dragonrider
Let's remove the space between me and you.
Posts: 203
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Post by Thorney on Aug 4, 2010 8:55:10 GMT -5
The brown sank his talons deeper into the tree and scrabbled to a halt as the beautiful gold hissed and raised her claws in warning, his tail drooping. Oh no, the queen, the queen, she was mad at him! He only wanted to be with her, for she was magnificent and glorious and perfect. A short whine escaping his throat, the wher waited anxiously, his eyes zeroed in on the lovely gold and his body quivering with anticipation. If she wanted him to wait, he would wait, but the brown did not want to! Flexing his paws restlessly as she moved still higher, he waited, not patiently, but obeying her.
Finally! At her command, the brown cried in savage joy and tensed his muscles, darting up the tree after her as quickly as he could go. Pushing his body mercilessly, the wher took a lower branch than the one she had broken and leapt into the air after her, trying to glide as she did. However, the lovely queen was massive, and he could not keep up with her long. Forced to land before she, the brown’s claws flexed against the branch he hit, snapping off bark. Launching himself away from the tree, he sailed through the air, grabbing another branch with his front paws and scrabbling up as quickly as he could.
Leaping into the air, the wher glided after the magnificent gold, his eyes on nothing but her glorious body. As she angled down, the brown let out a growl of surprise, cursing himself for trying to stay so high in the branches. He had thought she wanted to keep the Run in the sky, but that was apparently not the case. Dropping down, he found the tallest branch and landed with little grace, scurrying to find purchase on the wood. Jumping from tree to tree, lowering himself with each jump, the brown slowly found himself getting closer to the queen once more, much to his relief.
Yet his queen kept him guessing, for just as he landed on the ground behind the other brown, she was climbing another massive tree, barking to entice he and his comrades further. Calling to her, the wher, wisely, decided to use a different tree this time, hoping to avoid her reproach. Deciding in mere seconds, the brown jumped as high as he could at a near tree, claws sinking in the bark. Pushing his muscles, the wher scurried up, unable to go as swiftly as the gold but still rather quick. Quick enough, he hoped, to impress the queen.
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Post by Mello on Aug 4, 2010 10:33:32 GMT -5
The bronze wher let out a cry of excitement as the gold began to take off. He admired her from the ground as she moved through the trees. He had never really thought that moving up so high could be so easy for a creature of her size, but she made it look easy. It took a moment for him to realize that her moving meant he should be moving as well, and then he took off across the ground.
He tried to keep her in sight above him, but his delayed reaction meant that he started off behind some of the others, and to make matters worse, the vegetation on the ground was getting in his way. Maybe it would be easier for him if he was in the trees like the gold- if she could do it, certainly he could as well. But no sooner had the notion crossed his mind than she had landed on the ground as well, although she was well in front of him. She didn’t seem as hampered as he did, though, and continued to race ahead. The bronze let out a cry of frustration and forced himself to speed up. He was young and strong and powerful and he would catch her.
When the beautiful gold began to climb again, the bronze hesitated only a moment. On a level below thought he had realized that remaining on the ground would never allow him to win, only to trail behind and watch, frustrated. No, if he wanted to win he had to learn to move through the trees like she did. And so he also began to climb the closest tree.
He hadn’t chosen particularly well, though, as the first branch he climbed too quickly snapped under his weight. He fell for a brief moment, feeling his chances slip away all the time, and once again cried out in frustration. But at the last minutes he managed to catch at another branch, this one a bit stronger. The bronze paused a moment to catch his breath, but he knew that every moment was weakening his own chances to be the one to catch the lovely gold, so he forced himself to move, this time choosing the larger branches, each one a small step closer to the prize he so desperately wanted.
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Rouxy
Cerulean Weyr Staff
Rouxy of the Jungle
Posts: 345
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Post by Rouxy on Aug 5, 2010 9:43:52 GMT -5
Rozsk's claws scrabbled for a hold as she reached for the entire height of the tree in distance from her pursuers. Up, up, all the way until the canopy was only a length or two above her. She'd chosen a very large tree and it was serving the purpose well as she entered the sheltering leaves.
She felt the tree begin to move under her weight as she got too high, and a quick look showed that she had no decent branches to make a dive from. So, taking a firm hold on the rough bark, the gold pushed herself directly backwards from the tree in a tight springing leap into a vaguely clear space, rolling midair to face the direction her momentum had sent her. A whoosh of wings and she was sailing through the air again, dropping from the leafy expanses to slip teasingly past the tree holding the small brown who'd gotten too close before and nearly catching him with her tail in passing.
Of her pursuers, the bronze was youngest, virile, but clearly inexperienced. He was keeping up well though as he learned to adapt to her chase, and both browns still had her attention. She began watching them more closely to see which held the strongest points for her to base her decision off of.
Rozsk remained silent now as she glided through the trees, stretching for as much distance as possible. She finally reached a small river, and made it to the other side before landing on the cleared bank in a spray of sand and stones. She paused to see who was keeping up, then with a flick of her wings to bring them back tight against her, she motored her legs downstream towards distant rapids. She kept to the cleared bank for the most part and the more open areas that let in more moonlight. Fallen trunks crossed her path and were leapt over with a quick flaring of golden pinions, though she didn't increase the jumps into glides. Her wings were becoming slightly sore, but she was still very much in the middle of this run!
Zeek had used Hisgold's upwards climb as the opportunity he needed to catch all the way back up, and his quick wings had him soaring beside her when she leapt free, warbling and cooing. She was so beautiful, Hisbiggold! Didn't she see that he really did love her? The wher gave no indication that she'd heard, and the flitter fell behind again as the gold's much larger wingspan had her shooting forward at much greater speeds. He came to the river even as she began her downstream dash and he looped quickly in the air, chirping and warbling.
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Kaemi
Weyrling
Posts: 144
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Post by Kaemi on Aug 5, 2010 17:03:58 GMT -5
It became obvious that Tovsk hadn't chosen an appropriate tree as it became obvious of Rozsk's goal. Although it was a tall tree, it didn't have quite the height he would need if he wanted to follow her into the masking leaves. He leapt to another tree, closer to the one that Rozsk was on, but that one wouldn't carry his weight, either. Not if he was going to go all the way up. However, he knew that she couldn't stay up there for the Run, and so he merely stayed on his branch until she fell through the leaves.
Then it was back through the trees, jumping from tree to tree as he rushed down the branches, trying to stay slightly below his queen and far enough behind that he could keep her glowing form in sight, while still safely maneuvering the trees. His main concentration was on staying behind the gold- to do that, he had to dart beneath branches and crash through others, as he raced behind.
It was his one goal to follow the golden Rozsk, to prove himself to her, to win her. Alright, maybe that was three goals, but, in that order, was how they appeared in his mind. If he, first and foremost, couldn't keep up with her, then he sure as shells couldn't prove himself, and if he couldn't do that, then he couldn't win. Pushing the beginnings of burning muscles from his mind, and the scrapings of the branches against his hide, Tovsk focused fully on the Run, and his own running, his avoiding, his goal. Wings were spreading and closing at intervals, keeping his balance as well as protecting them from the sting of the branches as he made his way through the trees.
Eventually they found a river, which apparently signaled a short cease on their jungle run. They were on a banking, and the moonlight did lovely things for Rozsk's beautifully glowing hide. Tovsk did not croon as he wanted to towards his queen, wanting to conserve any energy he could so that he could continue running as long as possible. Instead, he followed the gold closely, just running a little more closely to the river, as she stayed closer to the jungle. The ground was less steady, and so he danced the line between sinking into the ground, which could possibly end his chances of winning the Run, and being completely unsteady on the hard bank.
This let him avoid most of the fallen trees, although not all of them. He leapt over them, until he faltered over one of the large ones. Recovering, Tovsk let out a burst of energy to regain his lost pace, and so he continued on his Run, moving upbank again to be closer to his queen.
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Thorney
Dragonrider
Let's remove the space between me and you.
Posts: 203
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Post by Thorney on Aug 6, 2010 10:12:56 GMT -5
Nearing as far as he could go, the brown growled in frustration, seeing the tree would not support his weight if he went too much higher. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep pace with the magnificent queen. Watching as she climbed higher and higher, the wher began to knead his claws against the wood, the bark snapping under his restless movements. When would she finally come down? Crying out joyously as she leapt away from the tree and began gliding gracefully through the air, the brown was elated to see her coming in his direction. How fortunate!
Whistling in surprise as she slipped past him, the wher scrabbled to the side to avoid her tail and then called after her, both amused and further incited by her teasing actions. How desperately he wanted her! To have the wondrous gold so close and yet unable to touch her…it was maddening. He was incapable of duplicating her brilliant move, so instead he was reduced to finding a foothold to jump from. Leaping to the nearest branch, digging his claws in and scrabbling into a sitting position, the brown was after her in a second. Gliding for a short time, he dropped to yet another branch, this time keeping lower than before. She had fooled him once, and he did not wish to let her do so again.
No longer vocally encouraging them, the queen silently moved through the trees, and the wher counted on his heightened senses to find her. From branch to branch, he jumped or glided, stretching his body as far as it would go before wasting precious seconds in landing. Before long, there was a break in the trees ahead, and he could smell the water flowing. Growling, the wher bunched his muscles, finding higher limbs in the trees. He needed to glide over that river. Leaping from a sturdy branch, the brown sailed over the waters and landed heavily against the ground on the other side, sending debris flying. Scrambling quickly, he leapt ahead, barreling after the other brown and the lovely gold.
She practically shone with radiance, now that no trees hindered his view of her glorious body. The pale light of the moon glinted off her golden hide, and the wher felt his desire grow even greater. He thought he wanted her before, but, now…oh, now it was so much more! The queen was a perfect, magnificent creature, and oh, if he would only be allowed to touch her, to bask in her presence for even one night, he would be satisfied.
At first, he ran close to the waters, hoping to close the distance between them with no obstacles to leap, but the brown soon found his feet could not find decent purchase in the sandy dirt. He stumbled, and the mucky ground pulled against his paws, trying to send him sprawling. Snorting in frustration, the wher darted up the bank, moving behind the other brown and then to the side, following vaguely the same path as the object of his desire. He crashed through whatever stood in his way, and leapt the barriers he could not break. Burning with a strong longing to prove himself worthy of the lovely queen, the brown pressed himself as hard as he could, determined that nothing would keep him from her. Scrabbling over one of the larger trees, the wher leapt a great distance, trying to bring himself closer to her. She was faster than he, though, that much was certain, and the other brown had chosen a better path.
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Kira
Cerulean Weyr Staff
Evil Mod of DOOM!!!!!
Posts: 266
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Post by Kira on Aug 7, 2010 10:57:55 GMT -5
The blue nearly crowed in delight when his queen started her run in the trees. Much smaller and lighter than his brown and bronze cousins, he was much more used to bounding around at higher altitudes. It kept him out of tangles with the pack-ones. Swiftly he bounded from branch to branch, trying to keep pace with his precious queen. The others could be defeated by the foliage and the fallen branches - he would simply rise above them. Small wings flicked out on occasion to glide between branches to conserve energy. He momentarily lost sight of his precious one when she dropped to the ground with the other males and barely held back a snarl at the thought of them. He wanted so badly to voice his love in return when she let out that bark of location, but then all of his stealth would be negated. Maybe he couldn't plow through the brambles, but he had his own gifts! When they came to the small river, the blue decided to take a different tactic. He stayed on the opposite bank, still in the lowest branches that ran parallel and at times hung over the rushing waters. Keeping one eye on the glowing golden wonder, he dashed as best he could. The breath was coming harder to him, and he found it necessary to glide more and more. He would ignore the pain beginning in his shoulder-joints, though; it was that or to despair, and he was never one to give up. .o0O0o. Jase squeaked in surprise when the mid-wing-queen suddenly took off. Sneaky! But he was quickquick, oh yes he was! Quicker than that silly brown. A rival! And sneakier too. Winging after the rapidly advancing mid-big-gold-one he warbled happily and darted to and fro. Oh, how lovely that she would go to ground and give his small wings time to catch up to her swift climbing! Oh, yesyesyes, she was so lovely! Mid-croon to his lady-love when rivalbrownZeek showed, he let out a small bark of challenge. You won't beat him, nono!
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Rouxy
Cerulean Weyr Staff
Rouxy of the Jungle
Posts: 345
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Post by Rouxy on Aug 7, 2010 21:12:34 GMT -5
She was beginning to tire, and she had yet to really make a decision! She would need to choose shortly, choose the strongest fastest male to give her strong children, healthy whers touched by the wild either from her side or the side of her chosen mate. Her males were still with her, all of them, even the blue she could just see on the other side of the river, and she finally gave a trilling singsong to the pack following as she kept pace on the bank. The river was starting to get choppier, and as it hit various rocks, sprays of water shot up moonlit rainbows of mist. Rozsk put on her last burst of speed, digging up sandy furrows in the bank and leaving a highly visible trail as she sped along.
There, ahead! It was perfect. The rapids shot out into space over the huge cliff side waterfall, and a large fallen tree angled just so to jut over the precipice and give her and her followers a natural ramp for jettison into the open air. The gold aimed for it, daring her followers to this last show of courage and devotion. She hooted as her claws caught in the bark, gouging into the slightly rotten trunk and slowing her forward momentum just a little. That wouldn't do! She poured her last bit of energy into the run and made a terrific leap from the end, nearly missing her jump as the last several feet worth of tree trunk crumbled under her weight. There, she was airborne! The swirling winds of the waterfall let her float on the upwards currents, hanging like a temping jewel for her males.
Who should she pick? Both browns had kept up admirably, and even now were being quick to follow, read and react to her moves. The bronze was impressive with his size and glory, and she did admire the flash of his bright hide in the moonlight, but he was young, inexperienced. Could she trust him to catch her? And that adorable blue, who mirrored her run on the opposite shore. She'd never mated with a blue before, but he was an excellent bluemale, and she gave him credit for keeping up. She lingered on the updraft, sliding side to side on wings that were aching, watching and waiting to see who could reach her.
Zeek caught up to Hisbiggold as she loped along the shoreline, hissing at the annoyingblue as he too worked to catch up. The brown slipped to the side, catching the forward rushing slipstream of wind over the river and shooting forward with it. He crooned to Hisbiggold, whistling as she made her lovely leap into the air, wings outstretched to catch the updrafts. Zeek followed, bobbing like a feather on the wind compared to His lovely's soaring form. He would beat the stupidJaserblue, it was Hisbiggold, after all! Zeek winged around and around the wher, triumph in his call.
Rozen froze in mid-stride as her gold's emotions washed through her. She was nearing the end, and it was getting more difficult to control, to distinguish between Rozen the woman and Rozsk the wher. The two were blurring into one, and Rozen/Rozsk wanted her male. She peered over at the brownmale, speculating if he was to be the winner.
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Thorney
Dragonrider
Let's remove the space between me and you.
Posts: 203
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Post by Thorney on Aug 9, 2010 9:52:23 GMT -5
Though his muscles had begun to burn with the exertion of keeping pace with the glorious queen, the brown did not allow those small aches to lessen his speed. After all, she was worth his little discomforts and so much more! In comparison to his desire, his pain meant nothing. And oh, when she sang to them…nothing had ever sounded so beautiful in his life as the gold’s stunning voice. He needed to have her, he must have her! The wher did not wish to take her, he wished to win her. He wanted to prove himself to his lady and be deemed worthy to spend just one night at her side. Nothing else mattered to the brown at that moment.
Her trail was easy to follow, true enough, but the wher did not wish to merely follow her steps. He pushed himself, poured everything he had into this Run, just to keep the magnificent gold in his eyesight. If he was not worthy…then at least he could still remember how she looked, wild and striking and free in the moonlight. The sprays of water did not deter him, nor did the treacherous footing underneath. The brown would not be denied his view of her! As they neared the fall of water, he could hear the roaring of the spray as it rushed down the cliff, crushing against the bottom in a raucous noise. Curious as to which path she would take next, the wher zeroed his gaze on her lovely form, his muscles tensing as he prepared to dart after her, no matter which way she choose next.
Giving a quick bark of surprise as she jumped onto a fallen tree above the water, the brown mastered his shock after a moment and was after her in a blink, digging his paws into the sandy ground. Leaping upwards, he landed heavily against the bark, a testament to his failing strength. Growling softly, the brown flexed his legs, tensing his body for the jump. Scrabbling towards the end of the tree, mindful of the broken edge, he gathered what power he had and shoved away from the wood, quickly snapping out his wings and hoping to catch a solid draft to glide on.
He had not used his wings this much in quite a while, and so the brown could easily feel the drain on him. But that would not keep him from his lady! Oh no, not while he still had breath left in his body. Attempting to keep on the same air current as the gold, he glided after her, making small sounds of annoyance that he could not keep with her constant slides from one side and then to the next, faster than he. She was teasing him, teasing them all in a tempting game that only lovely queens such as herself could play with this much expertise. Crooning lowly, hoping she heard him, the brown tucked his legs in as far as he could, using his tail to steer him as much as the angling of his wings. His magnificent gold was right before him, but could he reach her?
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