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Pleeease hurry, mine. They are waiting on us, Yvoth crooned from her ledge, eyeing the open air below.

K’la chuckled as she fastened the last stone-studded clip into her hair. There were very few things in her life that she ever hurried for, and patrol was simply not one of them. Even though patrol was more exciting ever since the stir of the Red Star had paired riders so there’d be less chance of accident, it was still patrol, and K’la was more concerned with tying her long auburn curls back so they would stay smooth after the flight than she was with rushing anywhere. Besides, as a product of her extra attention, her looks were stunning, even in riding leathers. Smoothing her clothes out of habit, she started towards her eager green. Tell Stoloth and T’go that we’re ready.

We are ready to fly! Yvoth announced gleefully.

Now? But he was so close! T’go stared at the incomplete poem on his scroll, biting his lower lip. The right word was almost in his grasp. No, no… now it was gone. With K’la he thought he would have had more time. By now he was in the habit of getting ready early so he would have something fun to do while he waited on his partner. He set down his quill with a faint sigh and climbed onto his ”She has perfect timing,” he mentally sighed.

Stoloth snorted in agreement. With T’go on board he crept to the ledge and peered down, eyes swirling. That first step is always the worst. He stretched his wings, giving them a cursory flap, and swung his enormous tail from side to side as he fidgeted on the edge of the cliff, never leaving this spot without first imagining the two of them as bloody splatters on the bottom of the Bowl. T’go patted his neck reassuringly.

”I hate this part…” Stoloth craned his head, looking Yvoth in the eyes from across the way. Turning his gaze toward the sky, Stoloth roared and threw himself into the empty air. T’go squeezed the saddle between his thighs, curly brown hair beaten back by the sudden rush as Stoloth caught the wind and lurched into the sky. Stoloth adjusted his wings, stabilizing himself on the air currents and rumbled in celebration of another catastrophe avoided. Taking off with him was always a noisy affair. It seemed he couldn’t get into the air without psyching himself up for the first leap. Grinning, T’go looked back to see if Yvoth was following.

While Stoloth was gearing up to fly, the green across the bowl was barely holding herself back. At her rider’s approach, she twist her long neck back and, once K’la had an easy grip on a headknob, lifted her up and easily set her the saddle. Luckily her rider was quick to strap herself in, because no sooner had she answered Stoloth’s roar with a shriller trumpet, the green sprang from her ledge. Her wings cupped into a steep drop, then flared, and with her accumulated speed she swooped under the larger and heavier brown and up along the opposite side of him. K’la, somewhat embarrassed by the display, gave a laugh that was all but torn away by the wind and gave a small wave to T’go, as if to apologize.

It is a fine day for flying, Yvoth cheered to the brown. By now she surely had seen Stoloth take off and land enough to notice his nervousness, but she was either too kind to say anything or to witless to think on it. Mine apologizes for making us late again.

T’go barely caught a glimpse of Yvoth before the green swooped under them. He smiled, struggling not to laugh, and waved in return. Used to her games, Stoloth thrummed happily at her arrival. Greens and blues always made him a bit nervous in the air. He flew with Yvoth enough to trust her skills, at least to a point he felt comfortable with. ”That was a nice stunt! Your’s may take all the time she needs. Mine always finds use for the spare time and I never mind.”

Yvoth trilled in pleasure at the compliment and swung idly from side to side as they flew from the bowl, as if she were suspended on the end of a string. She would, as she always did, grow weary long before the brown, but she never seemed to remember to conserve her strength. What is it he does? Mine could brush her hair until the end of time, but I don’t think your’s has enough for that.

”He writes ‘poems.’” The concept was a bit alien. Stoloth understood the idea of songs but found poetry totally ethereal, mostly because His flustered at the idea of reading his poems aloud. How would His impress a girl with nothing more than symbols on parchment? He argued this point before but T’go refused to budge. He seemed to think human girls would be impressed by it, though Stoloth could not fathom why. He only gave up the point after T’go got upset about it. With Yvoth’s rider at his wing tips, he couldn’t resist bringing up the question with her. T’go wanted her advice anyway, didn’t he? ”Does your’s like poems?”

”Stoloth!” T’go’s face turned bright red. He did want her advice, but he wanted to wait until had flown away from the Bowl. Well, maybe longer than that, but sooner or later he would have definitely asked!

It only took a flicker of a moment for Yvoth to give the conversation to K’la, who glanced at T’go and the brown beneath him thoughtfully for a little while. Yvoth, unware of the strange tension, answered a moment later, her voice clipped between words as if she were trying to relay an exact phrasing. She says yes. She says ladies like poems and songs, but that presents and…[/green] she paused and tilted her head, as if listening to something. and flattery go over better first. She says it gives the lady time to get used to the person first. Her voice rose quizzically as she and K’la glanced at the lavish blush on T’go’s face. Is yours alright?

s Stoloth relayed the message T’go’s face grew ever brighter. He stared dead straight ahead as they passed over the lip of the Bowl, eyes wide and white but only for a moment before the wind started to irritate him, causing him to blink rapidly. Though he looked terrified he was frantically taking notes. He could hardly concentrate, his head was so dizzy from worry. He thought for sure she would laugh at him. Women always laughed at him.

Stoloth rumbled warmly, amused. T’go’s episodes used to worry him too, but he was used to them by now. ”He always does that when girls are involved. Mine cannot talk to girls, especially ones he likes. His voice shakes and his hands sweat and his mind becomes an empty shell. Mine has wanted to ask the advice of your’s for days he never goes through with it, so I’m asking for him! He thinks your’s is very ladylike.” None of this was T’go’s words. He was at a complete loss.

K’la refrained from staring straight at him, and seemed at ease in her saddle as she was any other day – a refined look that she had practiced as a child, and then taken dragonback since weyrling lessons. It was a useful look, because she was withholding the merriest laughter since she didn’t want to hurt T’go’s feelings. In fact, it was flattering despite the poor boy’s awkwardness. It took a minute to get Stoloth’s answer from her green – who was more curious about the strange symptoms of the brown’s rider than being precise – and then a minute longer to decide what was best to say before answering.

Mine is very nice – I don’t see why he was worried about asking. It is good you’re helping him – though I do not understand what the trouble between males and females is. This was true, and not entirely due to Yvoth’s flightiness. Dragons had no need for romance. When Yvoth felt the urge there was no simpering about; she simply Rose and one of the pursuing males caught her eventually. Oh, she says thank you – for the ladylike bit I suppose. She also says just talking with a lady is a good way to get relaxed around her, but if his head is empty he can just ask about her day or friends or interests. Girls like to be listened to. She ran through all this quickly, but at the last her voice perked and she broke in with her own opinion – at least until K’la gave her a tired and affecitonate look. I think everyone likes to talk. I sit out on the ledges sometimes with the other greens and we talk about everything – oh, sorry. She says poems come a little later, after listening and compliments.

”Nor do I!” Stoloth agreed enthusiastically. He gathered that there was competition, like with dragons, but the terms of engagement were bizarre and subjective. He also had the sense that T’go was like a blue chasing a gold, not that he would risk T’go’s feelings by saying so.

As he passed the message on to his rider T’go’s cheeks slowly started to lose their color. Now that he was over the initial shock hearing K’la’s advice in Stoloth’s voice made the information much easier to swallow. He started to glance at K’la but looked away at the sight of her ankle, too shy to see what she really thought of him yet. ”Mine wants to ask…” Stoloth paused, trying to work out what T’go meant when he told him to phrase the question delicately. ”If your’s thinks he is cute.”

”No, don’t say it like that!” T’go frantically rephrased the question. Stoloth squawked at the unfair scolding. “ That is, if girls would think he is cute. I do not see what the difference is.”

”Nor do I!” Stoloth agreed enthusiastically. He gathered that there was competition, like with dragons, but the terms of engagement were bizarre and subjective. He also had the sense that T’go was like a blue chasing a gold, not that he would risk T’go’s feelings by saying so.

As he passed the message on to his rider T’go’s cheeks slowly started to lose their color. Now that he was over the initial shock hearing K’la’s advice in Stoloth’s voice made the information much easier to swallow. He started to glance at K’la but looked away at the sight of her ankle, too shy to see what she really thought of him yet. ”Mine wants to ask…” Stoloth paused, trying to work out what T’go meant when he told him to phrase the question >
delicately. ”If your’s thinks he is cute.”

”No, don’t say it like that!” T’go frantically rephrased the question. Stoloth squawked at the unfair scolding. “ That is, if girls would think he is cute. I do not see what the difference is.”

K’la glanced at T’go, but even though they were well out of range of the bowl this didn’t feel like the sort of thing to yell between dragons. What’d she’d give to sit the boy down in some nice garden and have this chat over a cup of klah. Instead, it was her dragon that relayed the message to Stoloth. I don’t either, Yvoth answered in a tone that sounded reminisce of a sigh. But mine says yes. She thinks yours is very endearing and easy to – easy for a girl to trust. She thinks if he tries to spend more time with girls it could be good. She also asks if he has any favorites.

Stoloth relayed the message in monotone word for word. Human courting behavior was one of the few things that did not arouse his curiosity, partly because T’go focused on it so much but mostly because it was too complicated. Trying to tease reason out of it made his head spin. Quite simply he was done with it. He had no idea how or why human courtship held T’go’s interest so fiercely. From what he gathered even other humans weren’t interested in it as much as His.

T’go blushed again. Women never complimented him like that. If his stutter didn’t turn them off immediately, he could never carry on a conversation long enough to get to know them because of, of course, his stutter. Though his speech was now much better he was still wary of his own tongue. But K’la called him endearing – not clumsy, endearing! Wow, what a thought!

Did he have any favorites? Uhm… “He says it is hard to choose, but he likes Canoake.”