Victory

Writers: Aaron, Heather
Date Posted: 18th September 2021

Characters: F'aen, T'kala, T'ner, R'nar, Y'sak
Description: Scarleth rises, and Lehystrath is more focused on victory than T'ner.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 9, day 18 of Turn 10

}:T'ner,:{ said Lehystrath to his rider. }:I daresay you'll be pleased to know that the ever-lovely lady Scarleth takes to the skies. I trust you'll join me for the denouement?:{

**Of course, buddy.** T'ner grinned. Flights with F'aen were fun. Everything with F'aen was fun. **I'll be right there.**

}:My lady,:{ the blue said to Scarleth. }:May I have this dance?:{

Scarleth hissed at Lehystrath and then emitted a piercing shriek before throwing aside the herdbeast carcass she had been devouring.

}: You'll never catch me.:{ the green snarled at the group of waiting males before rocketing into the sky.

As his bronze Iorath sprang from their weyrledge, R'nar experienced a rush of dizziness and had to slow his jog to the flight room to gain his bearings. He really hoped Iorath didn't catch F'aen's green. It was nice having a friend that he also didn't wake up beside.

T'kala was all grins as his blue joined the flight in the hopes of catching Scarleth. Dagreth had caught the green more than once over the last three Turns and T'kala hoped he would again.

F'aen winked at T'ner as he saw his weyrmate enter the flight room. Another two blueriders were already there - T'kala and Y'sak. Y'sak's blue eyes were smoldering as he watched F'aen.

In the air, Vemiath watched Scarleth with the same intensity.

Lehystrath was undeterred by the hiss – she had said this kind of thing before. But the leading man always won the race, and Lehystrath had no intention of relinquishing the role to any other.

T'ner smiled at F'aen as though he did not see anyone else in the room. That is, until he saw Y'sak. What was he doing there? No, no, no. He could not win. How did he get here before T'ner? How was he always already there when T'ner got there?

}:If you lose sight of the goal, you won't win,:{ Lehystrath cautioned, but T'ner did not hear. Instead, his heart began to race faster, and not only because of the flight lust.

R'nar determinedly kept his eyes on his boots, studying the skid and scuff marks on the toes. He had no interest in green flights, no matter who the rider was.

Iorath snarled in annoyance at his rider's melancholy and muscles his way past a brown dragon to get closer to Scarleth.

When Scarleth flew tantalizingly close to Dagreth,
F'aen mirrored her actions on the ground, his fingers trailing along the bluerider's shoulder.

Vemiath sneakily dove between Dagreth and Scarleth. }:Come fly with me beautiful.:{

Y'sak's hand curled daringly over F'aen's hip, bringing them closer together, but a blue dragon in the air interrupted them.

Vemiath hissed his irritation as Lehystrath darted in closer to Scarleth.

T'ner moved closer along with Lehystrath, his movements far more graceful with the blue in his head than they ever were otherwise.

But the pounding terror in his heart seeped into Lehystrath as well.

}:Just fly,:{ the blue begged, and T'ner tried his best.

Their best wasn't good enough. Not to be outdone, R'nar's bronze Iorath wedged in between Lehystrath and Scarleth, but before he could catch the green, Vemiath latched onto her and drug her away from the pack.

On the ground, Y'sak shoved past T'ner and scooped F'aen up.

T'ner snarled his frustration and turned to find a place to be alone. But flightrooms are a poor place for solitude, and he soon found himself tangled up with someone he had not noticed was in his way.

***

"Y'sak," F'aen drew the name out with a laugh as he tried to disentangle himself from the handsome bluerider.

"Come on, stay a bit longer," the bluerider coaxed.

"No, twice was enough. I need a bath and then I want to get dinner with T'ner before it's too late." The greenrider said as he rolled out of the bed and began getting dressed.

"But you can have dinner with your weyrmate any night," Y'sak whined.

"I know, that's what I like about having a weyrmate," F'aen grinned, buttoning his shirt.

"He's probably off with a flightmoth anyway." Y'sak conjoled as he sat up in the bed, sheets pooling around his trim waist.

F'aen lifted his shoulders. "Maybe, but by the time I've bathed maybe he'll be ready for dinner."

***

T'ner woke from the flight haze and sat bolt upright. Flame it. Where was he? Who was he with? Guilt stabbed at the pit of his stomach.

**How dare you be jealous? Look what you just did. But it's different, because it was _him_. He's faster, more clever, more charming, more handsome...**

"Oh, uh. Sorry," he said to the man beside him. "I. I hope it was OK."

"It was more than okay," T'kala grinned, stretched. "You were a little angry." And that had added some extra passion to the mix.

T'ner blushed. He _had_ been angry. And he did not like it. He stood and began dressing with his back to the bed.

"I... really wanted to catch him," he said, embarrassment evident in his voice. "I'm glad I didn't hurt you. Do you, um... need anything?" T'ner hated to just run away like he neither knew nor cared about T'kala. They were wingmates, after all.

**Like F'aen and _him_.**

"You didn't hurt me," T'kala chuckled in reassurance as he tossed aside the sheet and grabbed his pants. "I know you really wanted to catch F'aen, it's like that when you're with someone."

Once dressed, T'ner turned back to nod to T'kala.

"I... It's..." He sighed. "It's just a flight. Right?"

T'ner wondered if 'just a flight' might have been how Ayressa met P'mar.

"Of course it's just a flight." T'kala assured the other bluerider. Studying his face for a moment he asked, "You're not worried about F'aen, are you? As possessive of you as he is?"

T'ner blushed again. He really was transparent. And the last to know anything.

"No," he lied. He had been completely blindsided when Ayressa left. What if this was no different?

"But, uh. Thanks for asking."

"Of course. Look, T'ner, any time you need to talk, I'll listen." T'kala clapped a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "And any time you need a flight moth, I can do that too," there was a teasing wink that accompanied this line before the bluerider turned and struck off down the hall in the direction of the bathing pools.

T'ner was glad T'kala had already turned to go so he would not see yet another furious blush.

**I guess I can't expect to catch him every time, can I?** he asked Lehystrath.

Lehystrath said nothing.

**Leh?**

}:I regret that I must inform you that I am not interested in speaking to you at this time,:{ the blue said with a distant cordiality to his tone.

**What...? Why not!?**

Nothing.

**Fine!**

T'ner huffed and stormed off toward the bathing pools himself.

Last updated on the October 1st 2021

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Victory