Time for certain things (Flower's run)

[ShadowReine]

T'mar had, it seemed, been right. Flower was proddy. He was not, however, quite ready for her to simply leap from his arms and set off across the bowl, a couple of the resident males in pursuit.

Well. At least he'd have no problems finding people willing to take kagen pups, assuming the smaller peach females did, indeed, whelp. And assuming they whelped every run.

He'd have to see. Watching her go, he settled onto a rock. "Well, at least she's getting it over and done with."

The kagen, for her part, was going to run until she was too tired. Then...then she would see what she had. It had better be good.

[Jenth]

The signs had been hard to miss, and there weren't that many Kagens living in the Weyr. Meal times in the cavern had let them cross paths often, the smell was in the air. Flower was coming into heat and had no mate, making her free to become his.

If he could win the run that is.

Inolyn wasn't going anywhere, so he had no worries about leaving her with the more then capable violet and tan dragons that watched over her. He was going to have some fun on his own, the large roan taking off across the bowl in great bounds.

[Sparrow]

Squeak, hardly the most observant or courageous, had so far managed to miss all the signs that Flower would be running soon, or at least acted like he had. Lilac, however, always on the lookout for her furry protégé, did not. Kora was busy keeping Nayarath from destroying the feeding grounds, and it wasn't hard for Lilac to whisk Squeak away when Flower took off.

He looked around, a little stunned, took in the enticing scent of a female ready to mate, and with an extra bit of urging from Lilac, bounded away across the bowl.

There wasn't a lot of competition, not yet, anyway. But it figured that the other male there would be a Roan. Squeak wasn't sure he could compete with that, but a feeling of rivalry unusual to him was surfacing. He could win Flower, maybe. He was quick and agile.

Lilac swept along above them, not about to interfere but more than willing to be Squeak's cheerleader in the race.

[ShadowReine]

Flower, of course, kept running. For her, this was not about the night, for the mate she chose today would be her mate as long as they both lived. Kagen only changed mates if widowed. So, this test had to contain everything she wanted to learn about them. For right now, that was who was the fastest, the strongest. One was a roan...the other was smaller, but size was not everything. Not everything at all.

She darted through some rocks in the bowl, ignoring the firelizard cheerleader one of her chasers had 'grown'. Firelizards? Pheh. They were not involved in this contest. The only thing that mattered was the two males and their scent and the sound of them following her.

[Sparrow]

Squeak felt safe with Lilac keeping watch above him, and his usual wariness was dropping, allowing him to focus on the female running hard ahead of him. He followed her into the mess of rocks, a place he would not usually go because who knew what sort of dangers could be hiding behind them!

This time they would help him. He leapt over smaller rocks, and kicked off of larger ones for a little extra momentum. His start had been just a little late, but he could catch up to her this way. Look at how fast he was! How strong and clever! He would be the perfect mate for this lovely little blossom. He would keep her safe. He just had to win her.

[Jenth]

Nip wasn't surprised to see another Kagan running close by after Flower, he wasn't the only male around. Actually it didn't really bother him, not even the firelizard that seemed content of spectating and cheering the Gravel on. Well, at least at this stage. All that mattered was keeping up till the end.

Being a much larger then Squeak and Flower gave him a bit of an advantage. The smaller rocks he could bound right over, very helpful when she darted through a narrow space. Big he may be, he was not so aggressive that he would waste seconds kicking the smaller male out of the way. That would come later, if it came dont to that.

[ShadowReine]

There was a pile of rocks, and Flower did not bother to go around it. Nay, she went over it, scrambling, sending pebbles flying with her hind legs. From the top, she glanced back, assessing, for a moment, how the males were doing, then half tumbling down the far side.

This would, of course, give them chance to get close to the peach...and she was, after all, the smallest of the kagen females, likely to have a shorter run than the larger ones.

But she was not going to let them actually catch her *just* yet. She had a few more tricks she wanted to try first...

[Sparrow]

Why all the rocks? Squeak started scrambling up the pile, but the pebbles getting sent his way by Flower were quickly making him lose his drive. Getting hit in the face and scratching his feet was not worth a female. He slowed, watching her.

There. She paused at the top, but certainly wouldn't stay there. The top of a rock mountain was no place to end this chase. Squeak leapt from about midway up, sending a flurry of rocks falling behind him, and landed on the ground. From there, he simply skirted around the pile, saw Flower tumbling down.

He could probably just... wait for her, and catch her. But there was that Roan to worry about. He wouldn't make things easy. He could easily overpower Squeak, especially if the Gravel was trying to hold on to a struggling lady.

Best wait. Squeak hid behind a curve in the pile, ready to pop out and ambush Nip if the Roan were to get too close to Flower before she regained her footing, but hoping more that that wouldn't happen and they could just continue the chase. Running he was pretty confident about.

[Jenth]

Nip was still feeling pretty confident, though he didn't care much for all these rocks that created narrow paths. As soon as he feet hit the pebbles he nearly fell face first, his large feet sinking and sliding. But it wasn't his way to go around, had to be up and over on the same path as Flower. Reduced to all fours he had to slow down to scale the small height, he would make up for it on the way down.

His descent was less glamorous, falling again nearly flat on his face in a shower of dirt. Dazed for a few seconds he shook himself out, bruised at most but quickly returned to the task at hand; catching Flower

[ShadowReine]

They were getting close, and Flower was not at all displeased that both males were still with her. Picking herself up, she kept running, but she was visibly tiring. If either came close, though, she snapped at them.

There was one test left, although she was a tame kagen, she would not demand the sacrifices of a wild female. But she still needed to see their strength. Hissing a little, she turned to face them.

Show me your strength, that said, although she would stop it before anyone was really hurt, for she knew that they too had human partners.

Besides, she already had part of a decision forming in her mind, albeit slowly and as yet unfinished.

[Jenth]

Flower was letting them get close, but bared her teeth and lunged for them. The chase was over but she was yet to make her decision. The roan wasn't the sharpest knife in the draw, his senses slow with mating lust. So endurance wasn't enough, its had been reduced to a test of strength. Then so be it.

He had been raised in comfort and had never been without the best. Never had he had to fight for his share, never been threatened by predators. To fight now was a most foreign behavior, but maybe it may still not have to come to it. Nip towered over the gravel, almost terrifying in itself. His large feet stamped out a warning, giving his opponent a chance to back out should he not want to face combat.

[Sparrow]

Squeak had been working too hard to back out now. He snorted at Nip, not about to look intimidated by his competitor in front of the lady. He had to be brave if he wanted to win her. Besides, Lilac circled above. If it looked like Squeak was in trouble, she would get him out of it. He was safe.

Lilac's rescue would surely lose him Flower though, so best he avoided that option. Squeak and Nip were both tired, but Squeak guessed that would considerably slow the bulky Roan. Squeak was still agile enough to, hopefully, avoid the worst hits Nip could deliver. Besides, Nip had already fallen both up and down a hill, how dangerous could he be?

Trying to take advantage of how tall Nip was standing, Squeak started the match by diving at his stomach.

[ShadowReine]

She would not let them fight for too long. Flower rose up a little, watching the two males that vied for her. The larger and the smaller...each had his own advantages, but which one would she select? For right now, instinct led her to the larger male, but Squeak was fast and agile.

Which qualities did she need most for her offspring? Of course, it was not as clearcut as that. Everything with her, right now, was instinct. She hissed a little, egging them on. She wanted to see a few good blows before she ended it.

OOC: Next post. I'm back . Sorry this is short...major catchup.

[Jenth]

Squeak wished to fight, so be it. Not like he didn't try to warn the gravel, who at any other time but this would have most likely have scampered off in fear. It might have been because of Lilac circling above or that he really wished to mate with Flower, he would regret whatever made him stay.

By letting his opponent the first move gave the bigger roan time to brace himself. Living up to his name, bared teeth lunged to meet the grey fur that barreled into his stomach. Nip's whole form followed its teeth and the scuffle began. Kicking, biting, and punching out with his paws, there was little co-ordination to his attacks relying mainly on his bulk and strength at this point.

[Sparrow]

Really the only advantage Squeak had over Nip was that the larger male had no strategy. He attacked wherever his momentum took him, which was a fairly easy thing to follow. But Squeak was tired, and Nip was powerful. He had to struggle to follow his original plan, since avoiding one bad blow could easily lead him into another. His main focus had to be avoiding Nip's much more dangerous feet.

Basically, after that initial bite from Nip, Squeak's strategy had switched from "try to look tough" to "dodge as much as possible, stay alive, and maybe make that Roan look silly in the meanwhile". Not that Squeak looked a whole lot more graceful as he frantically dodged out of the way of Nip's thrashing.

[ShadowReine]

OOC: As I love both of you, I randomized it.

They would both be good mates. Flower almost regretted the fact that she had to choose, but she did. Only one could father her litters, from now on. Only one could be at her side. The peach kagen studied the fight, watching intently. So, which one would it be?

Finally, she made her move, ears flat back to protect them as she darted towards her suitors. Time to stop this, before anyone got really hurt, the influence of her human on her in that. A wild kagen would have let it go until one of them died, for there were always more than enough males to go around. Neither had backed down yet, and one would have, before long, but her decision was made.

Her choice. She hissed at Squeak, snarling at him, ears flat to drive him away before she darted to Nip's side, her anger slowly fading to be replaced by the need to mate. The big roan was, in the end, her choice...and unlike a dragon, she chose for now and for always.