[G] [F] 743.07.22 | Head Rush

The air seemed charged, somehow. A tension hung in it, heavy and thick like the air before a storm. It had been present like that for a sevenday, and Lassalla was beginning to become reacquainted with the feeling. A Flight was imminent. “Once a turn, eh miss?” The goldrider asked, giving some side eye to where the dragon lounged outside on her ledge.

I Fly when I need to do so. The gold squirmed, rustling her wings in agitation, eyeing the various males that dotted the ledges around the Weyr. Many of them returned her eager, hungry gaze, having been on edge for the past few days, Tiberuth in particular. Despite his scarring, he was still a handsome fellow, and on those occasions where he came to her ledge, the roughness of his hide made hers look all the more supple.

Lassalla hoped the bronze and his rider were doing alright… of the available options, she found she she did enjoy his company. He was a kind, caring young man, and her girls had taken quite fondly to him, too. Lassalla had checked in on him when she could, but the blasted after-effects of that attempt on her life had her sequestered in her weyr more often than not. Mercifully, the headaches she’d been cursed with had taken their leave of her today though, leaving the woman with a clearer mind with which to accept the coming event.

A pull at the fabric of her sleeve caught her attention, and she turned. Rosella, her youngest, had come up behind her and tugged at her tunic, big brown eyes showing concern and confusion. With a wan smile and sigh of resignation, Lassalla guided the girl toward the door, herding her and her sister out into the corridor with strict instructions to go to the creche for the rest of the day. Goodness knew she’d be otherwise occupied and soon the weyr would be no place for a child.

A petulant mental whine had Lassalla looking toward the ledge once more, spotting the gold through the curtain left open to allow for a cross-breeze. Neryseth had risen to her haunches, neck curved elegantly and eyes whirling with swirls of crimson. Are you quite finished? Her tone was irritated, eager. She was only waiting on her rider as a modicum of courtesy, but she couldn’t wait forever. Lassalla nodded.

Unable to fight the instinct any longer, the gold squealed in glee as she arrowed toward the herdbeast pens, deftly pouncing on one beast and neatly snapping its neck. She shook her great head as her rider warned her to simply blood it. Not eat, no matter how hungry she might be. The woman stopped, leaning against the wall as the desires of her bonded flooded through her. “That is not where your appetite is, miss. You are hungry, but only for blood! You will Fly well, but only if you do not gorge.”

The dragon roared her indignation at being ordered around, even by her rider, and lapped at the hot, metallic tasting liquid that spilled from the beast she’d slain. One was not enough, however, and she eyed another, singling out one that was unfortunate enough to have been too far away from the rest of the herd. It was an easy target. The creature lowed in confusion and fear, the sound cut off as the hungry gold killed it with a quick movement. Greedily, she drank from the spilled blood, lapping every last drop she could from the ground and the creature’s pelt, letting the hot liquid fuel the fire within her, and with one final bugle in challenge, she leapt to the sky, daring the others to chase her.

Finally. You may wish to mark your page. K'dar looked up from where he was lounging on the couch reading his book while Wes curled up at his side and napped. Not wanting to wake her up since she hadn't been feeling well, he turned his head towards Tiberuth and raised an eyebrow in silent question. Finally what? Tiber gave a low irritated growl in response. Don't be an idiot, K'dar. You are much more clever than that. The snappishness from the bronze definitely caught his attention, but underneath that was a more familiar sense of heated frustration and impatience that made him shiver. Ah, right. Today's the day then? Mark your page and get ready.

K'dar nodded, quickly setting his bookmark in place and setting the book down on the coffee table. He gently shook Wes awake and let her know where he was going and not to worry if she woke up and found him still missing. After giving her a quick kiss, he made sure to cover her back up with a blanket and set a cushion under her to try and keep her propped up and comfortable. He'd barely finished that when he heard a roar from outside and Tiberuth let out a loud and encouraging response of his own that sent a shiver through K'dar's spine. Not yet, she was still at the pens blooding a beast or two, but K'dar was keenly aware of how Tiber watched her, and waited, perched like a feline waiting for the perfect moment to pounce and give chase.

He wasn't the only one making his way towards Lassalla's weyr he noted, but Tiberuth was confident, even despite the incident in Benden that he'd only recently recovered from. K'dar just hoped that Tiber wouldn't let that confidence get to his head and over exert himself. Tiberuth wasn't even paying attention to his rider's thoughts, the bronze only had eyes on the gold and soon enough she was crying out in challenge and launching herself into the air and he bellowed out a response before all K'dar had a real sense of anymore was the dizzying feeling of his dragon in hot pursuit.

The air burned in Neryseth’s throat and lungs, like the crisp chill of winter, even in the heat. It was invigorating, tingling, and it spurred the gold to move higher and higher into the sky. Her suitors followed behind her, Tiberuth, even in his scarred and still recovering state, among them. They were powerful, strong, determined… determined to catch her! Ha! Of course they were, she was the best! The entire Weyr was watching her and any who wished to answer her call. Neryseth roared in challenge and joy. She was the golden jewel of Telgar this afternoon! She was the most beautiful gold in the Weyr, on Pern! Her hide gleamed like Rukbat itself!

With a defiant, proud bugle, Neryseth tossed her head, but the movement was slower, more sluggish than she’d expected. Angry at her fuzzy, heavy head, she hissed, tucking a wing and rolling to one side, blinking furiously to clear her fuzzy vision. It didn’t matter. Not now. She would still Fly all the way to the horizon, and only the most worthy would be able to capture her. Powerful wings scooped the air, propelling her higher, higher into the sky, and the gold dragon’s chest heaved with each quick, labored breath of the thinning air. Oh, this was so much fun! How she had missed this! It was a wonder she’d waited so long for her rider —oh her dear, sweet rider,— to feel well before she had taken to the skies once more! Her rider was strong, capable. She could simply deal with it.

***

With the mental shove from the gold, Lassalla blinked brown eyes as the unfamiliar feeling of such absolute, unflappable elation and determination that washed down the bond she shared with her gold. Neryseth was confident, but this was…this was different. Something was different. It was—

Meaningless. At the moment, at least. As quick as the feeling was there, it was gone, like a shadow caught from the corner of her vision, and she found herself seeking to satisfy the tingling and desire flooding her own senses. Despite the summer heat, goosebumps pricked her skin as a ghost of icy chill danced in throat, lungs and veins. She needed warmth, she needed feeling, sensation, to fight the unpleasant distraction that the tingling proved to be. Hot-cold?-lips sought those of another, but flightlust-hazed mind wasn’t sure who. He was close, and that was all that she cared about.

A smile curled the woman’s lips as she finally recognized K’dar through the fog that slowly engulfed her mind. Hm… Neryseth did seem to fancy Tiberuth. A part of the woman’s mind willed the gold onward, upward, faster and farther in her Flight as she discarded her tunic, reaching for the bronzerider and pressing hungry kisses to his lips and jaw.

***

The sun’s rays caressed the gold dragon’s hide, and Neryseth trumpeted her joy at it. Oh, the warmth… the warmth was absolutely glorious! How was it that such a warm day had begun to chill her to her very bones? She banked and turned upward sharply, letting the sunlight warm her chest and belly, wings outspread to catch all of the heat she could before she tucked one to her back and wheeled to the side. Again, the movement was slower than she’d wanted, and she roared her defiance at the clumsiness she displayed but certainly didn’t feel.

A look was cast back at her chasers, at Tiberuth, and crimson and indigo orbs blinked as, for a moment, the gold seemed to be cast into a twilight evening. Darkness danced across her vision, and a mighty shake of her head was given, intended to keep it at bay. Instead, her entire body shook, rocking with the effort. In that moment, something, -someone,- appeared from the dimmed edges of her vision, making possessive contact, and Neryseth shrieked in delight as Tiberuth tangled himself around her.

K'dar had long since forgotten where he was, too wrapped up in Tiberuth's pursuit, blood boiling in his veins with desire. Time didn't exist, and neither did anything else beyond Neryseth and the other dragons that tried to keep him away from her. He dodged and maneuvered partly on instinct, partly on calculated cunning. He was determined to win, and while he may not have fully regained the weight he had lost from the poisoning, that just meant his wings should have an easier time moving him. And if part of that weight loss was muscle mass, he didn't seem to notice in his dogged pursuit, he'd have time to dwell on how sore and tired he'd be after he won.

Now he just had to get there, and he was willing to give a warning swipe at others who thought they might try to shove him out of the way. At some point in that timeless chase he noticed Neryseth slow slightly, twirling in a manner which almost seemed to taunt and dare, and then she looked back at him and he took it as a sign. Clearly he had to make his move before an opening she intended for him was taken by someone else. He didn't think twice before boldly darting in, ignoring a brief brush of claws to his flank as he slipped by to captured his prize.

The bronze's roar of victory was echoed by a growl as K'dar found his own prize, clawing impatiently at whatever clothes were still in his way in a frantic mindless effort to keep up with Tiberuth. There was no denying the intense needs that drove him onward, to claim well and fully claim his prize as thoroughly and intensely as Tiber was, with a greedy and insatiable hunger tempered by affection.

The bronze still had no sense of time, his focus narrowed even further to just Neryseth and their bliss. Nothing else mattered other than the heady relief and elation he and K'dar shared and the warm bodies they both held close. There was some small thing that was threatening to draw him out of his ecstasy, some odd little thing that tried to demand his attention and focus, but the dragon was too wrapped up in the moment and in the shimmering gold to pay it any mind. With victory already achieved, he couldn't fathom anything else more important than that.

They plummeted toward the ground, the gold’s head both light in the joy of it and oddly heavy… and with a clumsy effort she tried in practiced, instinctual movement to keep them righted in the sky.

But…something was wrong. Her wings were not working. They were falling, and the Weyr was so, so far below! Panicked, afraid, Neryseth flailed what limbs she could, as though doing so would somehow get her wings to work again, but she couldn’t even get her head to go where she wanted. Chest burned and ached as she tried to cry out, but no sound came. Unable to move, barely able to breathe, the gold’s eyes shifted from the scarlet of desire to sickly white of terror.

Outstretched wings quivered and neck and tail flailed as the gold attempted to move, but her body wasn’t working. Instead, it was merely a prison for the scared, confused creature that mere moments before had been experiencing the greatest, most intense joy she’d ever felt. Finally, finally able to push the air from her lungs, the gold shrieked.

*****

Lassalla echoed her dragon’s cry. One moment she was engulfed in passion, body twined with K’dar’s, hot, fervent lips pressed to his, along with jaw, neck, shoulder, and any other part of the man’s body she could get to, and the next she was enveloped in pain and fear. Screaming, brown eyes opened wide, pupils dilated as the woman’s mind so enmeshed with Neryseth’s was flooded with all of the panic and agony the gold felt as her body seemed to betray her.

Ice seemed to flood the woman’s veins, and she recoiled, chilled and shivering, body stiffening as she tried to move. “K’dar! K’dar something’s wrong!” Curling in on herself, Lassalla reached for the man, desperate to hang on to something -anything- as the sheer horror she saw through Neryseth’s eyes was all that filled her mind. She couldn’t seem to gulp down enough air,- or was that Neryseth unable to breathe?!- and each breath was shallow and ragged.

The ground… they were approaching the ground far, far too quickly! Tiberuth was trying, trying so desperately to keep them righted, to guide them, but—but it wasn’t enough! “I’m falling! I-They’re falling! I -N-Neryseth- can’t—MOVE!” Shoulders bucked in an involuntary shiver as goosebumps raised across her bare flesh. Delicate fingers hooked into rigid claws, every muscle taught as a harper’s gitar string. The world spun around her, vision dimming and swimming in and out of focus as whatever was affecting the gold took more and more effect. Everything hurt so badly! And she was so, so cold! “K’dar, K’dar help!” What kind of help she’d hoped for exactly, she couldn’t even pretend to know, but she did know that she didn’t want to be left alone…

The flash of panic from Neryseth was the first thing the bronze picked up on, and he tore his attention away from his prize long enough to realize they were falling far too quickly. The haze of his lust began to clear as he realized that the gold couldn't seem to move properly, that even if he pulled away she'd still plummet. He couldn't let that happen. His wings flared, tail flailed as he tried to compensate, tried to slow their descent as much as he could. He wasn't strong enough to keep them both aloft on his own power, had always been a leaner bronze to begin with, built for marathons, not the brute strength that would be required. And the recent poisoning had left him weaker... Tiberuth glared defiantly at the ground and gave out a roar of defiance at whoever or whatever had managed to leave the gold in such a state and at the ground itself for thinking it would try to take his victory away from him.

At first K'dar was still lost in lust, just mindlessly trying to pull the goldrider back in, but as Tiberuth began to realize something was wrong his own head started to clear a bit and he frowned in confusion. His arms still wrapped around Lassalla, but they shifted, turning more concerned and comfort as Tiber's hold on his mind was still firm. "I've got you, I'm here and I won't let go." There was no way to know if the words were his own or the dragon's, or even who he was talking to as he held the woman tight, completely unaware of anything or anyone else around them. K'dar's blood ran cold, his heart pounding. There was fear, there was rage, and then there was something grim and determined that terrified K'dar in a way that nothing else could. His voice was hoarse and strained as he said, "Can't stop the fall, but I'll soften it."

With another roar, this one serving mostly as a warning, Tiberuth frantically flapped his wings as much as he could for their descent before another flick of his tail and a tilt of his wings managed to maneuver his body beneath Neryseth's. At the last minute he curled his wings back around her to keep her further secure before he slammed into the ground with a chorus of cracks and a wet pop that brought an end to his cries.

Where the dragon's roars left off, K'dar picked up as he let out a muffled cry through gritted teeth. Pain flooded into him in with such sudden intensity that he was trembling, unable to move as he held Lassalla even more firmly, his breathing ragged. There was at least some clarity in that pain, though that clarity only let him realize just how badly hurt Tiberuth was. Something was dislocated, either a wing or shoulder or both, and K'dar recognized what broken ribs felt like.

But there was a stabbing pain in his chest that wasn't right, and with Tiberuth's pain threatening to try and overwhelm them both again he tried to soothe. Just breathe... I'm sure healers are on their way, breathe and- even his own mental voice caught in his throat as he gasped, echoing the bronze's attempt. Trying to gasp in a deeper breath resulted in a dry hacking cough, that sharp pain radiating further back. Every breath became more difficult and shorter, like he was beginning to suffocate in his own chest, and that more than anything terrified K'dar as his own panic began to catch up to him and he screamed. "Tiber!"