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 Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2005 8:03 pm
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 12:03 am
They waited and waited and although L'cian began to think that perhaps the felines were onto their game, Tallith remained sure they would come out.
The herdbeasts suddenly moved, clustering into a tighter group and suddenly both rider and dragon caught sight of the pale bodies as they moved from the trees. The brown canted his head a little, recieving the message to wait from Liliath. L'cian felt the tension in his dragon's neck, the muscles bunching as he prepared to swoop downwards and then came the order.
Go! Tallith repeated it, for himself as well as the unknowing rider sitting astride his shoulders, and together they tumbled from the sky. Wind lashed at them, making L'cian have to close his eyes in fear they would be damaged and then suddenly the brown dragon swerved his body into a more horizontal path, turning on a wing tip that jerked his rider to the side a little.
The brown dragon gave a rumble of apology for his quick movements, but L'cian soon saw the reason why. He leaned forwards so that his stomach almost pressed against his dragon, urging his beast on.
Ahead of them a feline ran, it's powerful legs allowing it to run at an incredible speed for such a small animal. It did not even pause to look over its shoulder, smart enough to know that if it did, it would meet the gaping jaws of a terrifyingly huge dragon.
Tallith brought himself closer with an extra beat of his wings, giving a slight complaint as the feline twisted it's body, changing the direction and heading across the clearing, desperate to reach the trees.
Now! L'cian called into his dragon's mind, sensing that they might miss their chance if the creature reached the trees. The dragon increased his speed further, making his size an advantage rather than something that would hold him back.
Rider increased his grip on the riding straps, part of him wanting to close his eyes as they approached the terrified feline...
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:41 am
Hung in mid air, the green and her rider kept back as planned for a moment, as both Liliath and two other dragons shot downwards after the confused felines. Moth’s body clenched as she forced herself to circle once more above the field, using the steady updraft of air to her advantage as she quickly planned out an attack.
Farin furiously wrenched herself near out of her saddle, to look over the green’s large shoulders and see the ground below. The shapes of bright dragons danced across the field like fire, quickly herding some felines towards the center, and chasing the others outside of the ring. Moth snorted, making sure she would pick a target that would put her in the least area of confrontation with the other dragons, her eyes dipping to a bright red with the urge to begin the hunt.
Farin’s pale brown eyes sharply slid across the field’s expanse, catching sight of worried and screaming herd beasts, and the bright flashes of the feline’s streamline shape rocketing back and forth with a speed that easily rivaled that of any runner or dragon.
Darting her eyes about still, Farin caught the shadow of a feline running along the length of the outer rim of the field. It seemed that it was apart of Liliath’s herd up, but the splintering had made it grow wild with confusion. It now raced back and forth across the outline of the trees, it’s head straight up into the air as it calculated methodically.
The green dipped, and sliced downwards. The broke the fall a couple of meters upwards, now at the height of some of the taller trees in the area.
‘Watch for it. It’s confused, and it might attack us.’ Farin urged, tightening her grip on Moth for the impact.
Moth took this as a signal that the target had been selected. Instantly, she surged with much pent up power in her wing joints, and propelled herself forwards. She combed across the edges of the trees, using their shadows to cover the last moments of her descent.
The feline was no fool though. It turned and let out a strangled cry, and flanked backwards, it’s eyes locked on those of the incoming dragon’s. It danced for a moment, pondering what to do, before rocketing straight across the field, towards the other side of trees.
‘Go Moth! Don’t let it get back into the trees!’ Farin gaped, continuing to pull herself wildly at her straps to see the position of the feline.
Moth however had slipped into autopilot, and did not listen much to Farin’s wild advice. There would be no back seat drivers in a hunt.
Moth dipped, her green skin suddenly becoming brightly apparent as they streaked across the ridge of the trees, her wings furiously batting at the ground below. As they crossed across the herd beasts, she dipped sharply upwards, returning once again to the height of the trees, and then sliding quickly to the side to align her flight better.
The beast was still running, and Moth could see the flexing muscles at the shoulder joints rush together and pulsate with the beasts fast movements. On ground, the green would stand no chance to catch such a creature. But on air, she had two things of advantage- One, was her enormous size. Even though greens were the smallest of dragonkind, even they were quite big compared to the small felines. The second, being that she had the forces of physics on her side. No matter how fast the feline ran, she was at a higher angle and weighed much more. The force of gravity and sheer expertise could vastly make up for the land coverage the wild animal was making.
The green snorted, flying up once more, before opening her wings. They caught the last few seconds of air in her flight, before angling them into a sharp v shape. And then, they plummeted. Using that angle and the fall, she used only a small amount of the skin between her wings to angle the flight, her body tensed to reach the running creature in only a matter of seconds…
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 11:27 am
The movement of the runner beasts alerted the pair to the approach of the felines. At the command of the green dragon she held her position before with a whoop of excitement Kalya encouraged her weyrmate to dive down towards a streak of silvergold. The Wind rushing through the few loose strands she had not braided wipped into her face as they dropped like a stone.
They'll never know what hit them. Kalya grinned as she felt the dragons muscles bunch up to slow the descent abruptly.
Well I am swifter then them the smug dragon swung his head around to align himself for the charge. Nimbly he snapped out his wings and braught himself out of the dive. The feline was already running towards the cover of the trees and he pumped his wings to gain speed.
Suddenly it changed it's mind and turned towards a different corps. Tarlith veared around following the path of the feline as it hurtled across the glade. A little further and he would have it in his jaws. Kalya leaned forward as she mirrored her partner, both minds consentrating on the same target.
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 2:34 pm
Zareth's Feline:
The mottled fur of the best blended perfectly with the shadows, but it's bright eyes flashed as it put its brakes on when the blue dragon crashed in front of it. Its space was limited, but trees were the safest area. However, a dragon in the trees would have less maneuverability, but still be quite lethal. Faster than a flitt, the cat whirled around and raced through the underbrush back in the direction of the open field, intent on finding another place to enter the trees.
((No catch yet, better follow it!))
Tallith's Feline:
The trees stood as the only goal to the terrified feline. It could feel the wind caused by the wings of the large brown shadow above it and its' only thought were escape, the ability to outmaneuver the creature. It dug its' claws into the earth and quickly changed direction just half a dragonlength before the trees, racing back the way it had come and then once more dodging another dragon's shadow to make a right turn, heading for the forest again, it's pale fur easily seen in the darkness.
((Don't crash into the trees, Tallith!))
Moth's Feline:
The target could feel the wind rushing along its' striped fur and its mind reeled with escape tactics. There were herdbeasts to the left, trying to escape the dragon, if it were to run in that direction hooves would easily crush it. The right, of it were to go to the right-! It made the decision and snapped to the right just as Moth came down upon its' back. The incredible weight of the green dragon caused a high-pitched yowl of pain before the sickening crunch of a snapping spine killed the noise in the dead felines throat.
((Check the Prize section in the front! Congrats on the first kill!))
Tarlith's Feline:
A dark shadow leapt from the right, yowling with it's claws outstretched at the dragon. It was nearly invisible again the night, and not the intended target. The distraction it caused allowed its' paler companion to change direction once more, and the dark one raced off, directly under the dragon, into the nearby cover of the copse. Its companion, however, had angled itself back into the open and was aiming for its' original destination once more.
((Watch out for the claws!))
Liliath's Feline:
The green dragon changed her angle abruptly when another green dove after the pair she herded, and flew to gain height before diving once more at the one Moth had chosen not to go for. The beast raced through the clearing, dodging the scattering herdbeasts and turning on its' tail swift as can be before changing direction once more.
Liliath kept up though, using her small size -even for a green- and the resulting speed to her benefit. She bugled a challenge to the creature, tail lashing behind her as she flew just out of reach of swiping claws.
((She's still hunting ^_^))
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 3:22 pm
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2005 5:12 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 5:15 am
The move had been unexpected, the agile feline twisting it's lithe body to turn and dash madly away from the trees. A glint of fear could be seen in it's teardrop shaped eyes as it tried to escape, running madly across the wide clearing, it's tremendous paws beating upon the ground and claws unsheathed to help give power to each thrust.
Tallith swerved quickly in order to stop himself from connecting with the trees, throwing L'cian sideways so suddenly that the riding straps attached to his belt had probably saved him from a terrible fall. The sound of snapping branches and the tearing of leaves alerted L'cian that perhaps his brown and not judged the distance and had connected with the first line of trees, his great form breaking them apart with ease as he turned his not so agile form and flew back out into the clearing.
The dragon gave another loud roar, menacing jaws open so wide that the rider though he would perhaps try and swallow the feline in one go.
Are you okay? He asked, touching the mind of his dragon tentatively, not sure what sort of mood his beast would be in.
I am fine, the trees are not.
They will grow back , don't fret. L'cian couldn't help but smile at his dragon's comment, craning his head back to inspect the damage his dragon had made. It wasn't as bad as he had first expected, the trees had been young and slim, their roots not growing deep into the ground. This had made them easy to wrench out of the ground, and a good fifteen of them had been pushed back so they were leaning away from the clearing, their branches broken and littering the ground around them.
Maybe you should practise at turning quicker. L'cian joked turning back to face the clearing, ignoring the irritated huff of his dragon.
You forget my size?
You could have gone between.
That is not the spirit of a hunt my rider! The dragon replied, this time with excitement as he gained once more on the feline.
L'cian agreed with this statement and reached up to take his goggles and fix them more securely over his eyes, making a note to shorten the strap a little when he got back to the Weyr. Then leaning closer to his dragon's neck he reached out and gave him an encouraging pat.
Above them another dragon flew, it's shadow falling upon the feline and causing it to change course once more, swerving right and heading for the next barrier of trees. L'cian knew the creatures were fast, and even reasonably intelligent, but no creature could run forever.
No dragon can fly forever. Tallith added, much to his rider's disbelief. His dragon had never admitted to a flaw openly like that before.
Ceasing the opportunity of this direction change, Tallith veered early, flying at a slant so that he could catch the feline unawares and block it's escape path. The dragon held back a roar of defiance, flying as silently as possible with such large wings. Once again Tallith's battle ready eyes locked onto his prey, jaws opening silently and taloned front legs outsretched, preparing to take another shot at a kill...
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 2:39 pm
Tarlith's Feline A dark shadow leapt from the right, yowling with it's claws outstretched at the dragon. It was nearly invisible again the night, and not the intended target. The distraction it caused allowed its' paler companion to change direction once more, and the dark one raced off, directly under the dragon, into the nearby cover of the copse. Its companion, however, had angled itself back into the open and was aiming for its' original destination once more. ((Watch out for the claws!)) Tarlith reared up his forequarters to get away from the suddenly attack to his flank. His wings brush against the ground, causing him to land in the scrub with an ungainly thud. Wipping his tail around he hoped to connect but the dark feline darted under his belly, safely out of range. Bringing his head around he saw the dark one dive back under the copse away from his reach. To the right, the right! Kalya could see from her vantage point that the pale feline had changed direction once more. I think it is still after something. She felt herself lurch as Talith's attention swung back towards the center of the clearing where the pale feline was dashing across. I am more clumsy on land The blue grumbled as he considered leaping on his intended pray. Making up his mind he bunched up his powerful back muscles in preparation of the pounce. His long tail twitched slightly as he judged the distance between the fleeing feline. With an explosion of energy he kicked his back feet and launched himself off the ground, foreclaws streached out towards the feline. It was a hit or miss situation, Kalya lay low on his back to give herself support, glad she had checked her riding straps before departing her weyr.
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Posted: Fri Jan 28, 2005 11:07 pm
Zareth's Feline:
The feline was altogether confused by the dragons' array of actions. It had expected the beast to come flying over it, but after the chase through the woods it thought a foot-race was in order. Apparently not as the huge form flew over it. The swipe connected well and the cruch of a breaking spine reverberated through the clearing.
((Despite odd tactics Zareth has managed to take down a feline with her eventual attack from the air! Congrats, please check the first post for your pelt and take it over ot the skinning area.))
Tallith's Feline:
The pale fur of the animal streaked across the clearing, almost in a race against the browns' shadow. It was loosing ground though, having exerted its energy in dodging and weaving. In a last attempt for its' life it ducked sideways under the great claws. Before it could make a drastic change in course it was brought up sharp by a frantic herdbeast nearing its path and the hesitation cost it its life and pelt as the browns' claws made a faithful connection.
Apparently the time its' black-furred friend had bought it was not nearly enough.
((Congrats! Hopefully Tallith wasn't too hurt by the trees, so collect your carcass and find a nice place to skin it.))
Tarlith's Feline:
The cat had the advantage on the ground, and Tarlith narrowly missed the beast, earning only a feel of its' tail and a sharp yowl in respose as it swerved. It was cocky now, the trees lay a sprint ahead and on the ground a dragon was no match for a feline.
((Hurry up before it escapes!))
Liliath's Feline:
"What are they doing?!" T'bell cursed, bending low to his flying dragons' body so the wind would snatch his words and breath. "They're in the trees!"
They are Ok. Tallith has his, Zareth and Moth theirs. Liliath made an abrupt swerve, her wingtips trailing close ot the ground as she chased the dark feline in front of her. I want it!
"We can't, not yet." T'bell cautioned her. He could feel her primal need to catch the beast, and her excitement, but to catch his before older riders? How would that look on him? They'd certainly make things difficult, especially since he was 'in charge' of them.
I want it! Liliath repeated, but nevertheless stayed on thebeasts tail. I will tire soon!
"We have to keep them in the clearing, love, one's gotten away." T'bell gripped the flying straps hard and only they kept him in the saddle as the small green made a quick turn to follow the nearly-invisible feline on its' wild course.
This one will not.
((Yeesh, Liliath's getting impatient, but T'bell won't let her try to take her prize yet!))
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 12:22 am
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 4:04 am
The force at which Tallith struck the momentarily confused beast was enough to break it's neck in one clean go, the snap of bone which ended it's small cry of terror echoed sharply in the rider's ears.
The brown dragon rose his head and bugled his victory, his form skimming along the ground, wings outspread as he slowed his speed and angled his body upwards. The feline hung loosely in his large talons, a little blood trickling from it?s pale muzzle. The fur was a beautiful cream colour, something that L'cian was rather partial to. He guessed that his brown had known this and that was why he had claimed this feline as his to chase.
L'cian leaned back, letting the tension slowly drain from him as the effect of their catch began to sink in. It had been tough but that feline had not been able to outwit his dragon. They would now have a very beautiful fur to show for their efforts.
Tallith coiled his head back to face his rider, flying in a slow curving circle as he regained his breath from the terrifyingly quick chase he had just engaged in. His eyes were an incredible blue, reminding the rider of clear summer skies. L'cian felt a twinge of pride run through him, once again remembering the stamina and sheer speed of his dragon and patted his neck affectionately.
"You did well Tallith!" He spoke out loud for the first time since the hunt had begun.
Did you doubt it Lace? Tallith enquired gently.
"Of course not, but you definitely showed the others what a dragon can do."
Two others suceeded in catches too. The dragon announced, turning his head back to face before him as he straightened their path to where the clearing awaited them.
"Who?" L'cian was always interested to know such things, events like these were good at showing how well dragon and rider acted together. It showed strengths and weaknesses as well as how good they were at quick thinking. It was always interesting to know one's own faults, and this session had shown L'cian a few of his own which he intended to improve on.
Moth and Zareth, the green is already at the clearing. Should we join her? Tallith asked, obviously flying in that direction already.
"Of course, as long as there is room for you my dear." L'cian laughed, removing his goggles so they hung loosely at his neck, aware of their slow and leisurely flight. His eyes trailed up his beast's neck, admiring the way the dying light danced across his mahogany hide and made it gleam with health.
The clearing seems big enough for me as well. Tallith replied after a moments thought and then with an extra beat from his wings, flew forwards with increased speed.
"Tell them we are coming in to land." L'cian spoke up quickly as they began to circle the clearing, decreasing their altitude with each round. The dragon gave another roar, backwinging powerfully as he made the difficult landing, hindlegs making contact with the ground first so that he wouldn't crush the feline's body.
With a small huff, the brown placed the feline's pale form on the grass and tucked his wings up against him, perhaps there was not as much space as he had thought. He shifted sideways so that one side pressed against the trees, being careful not to break them, and laid down, curving his head round to watch the green and her rider in the process of skinning.
Let me know when you've finished skinning the furry. Tallith yawned, blinking his eyes thoughtfully as L'cian slid down from his shoulders and landed on the ground.
He glanced over at the rider who seemed to be involved with her own beast, and gave her short smile.
"Looks like your green is a good hunter, she brought it down fast." He announced, moving over to his own feline and dragging it into a better position for skinning.
Kneeling down beside it's inert form he reached up, wiping the back of one gloved hand across his forehead, then reaching down for his belt knife, glad that he had sharpened it only a day or so before. He never much liked skinning but it was something that needed to be done, and properly in case the fur was damaged.
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 8:19 am
[I'm not sure if I have come too late, but I would like to post anyways.]
Leaning close to the body of her great blue dragon, Adelaide had an upleasant frown on her face. She had heard about the felines terrorizing the herds a while ago, but it had taken her and Daz a little more time than she had expected to get ready and go.
So, embarrassed, her sharp blue eyes blazed across the field, searching for a feline to attack immediately in the hopes of slipping in unnoticed. But before her impulsive quirk could take hold, Daz promptly checked her.
Don't even think about it. We have to check in with whoever is in charge here. I believe Liliath's rider, T'bell. Am I mistaken?
Adelaide scowled unattractively at Dazuth's gentle reprimand, but she knew he was right and chose to quickly move on to underscore her concession to him. Yes, it is T'bell. Do you see him anywhere?
Dazuth pulled his great wings upward to allow a slight descent closer to the ground to get a better look at anyone who might be in the process of a hunt. Liliath is near.
Vague. I'll find them myself.
A laugh rang throughout Adelaide's mind. So am I to assume that you will be walking? Dazuth took a sharp dive to the right to emphasize his point and had to inwardly smile as his rider gripped his hide with a gasp.
Not funny... Sitting up slightly, Adelaide kept her eyes peeled, hoping to spot T'bell and Liliath before Dazuth could.
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 9:21 am
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Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 10:35 am
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