Khalbalahath's Flight and ... Impression?

Sitting off to the side of the Plateau, in his normal spot, is Khalbalahath, the Light-brown dragon whose rider R'ingo has been killed to save others. Not honorably, at that, R'ingo was killed by Rue during a gather, to keep a Lord Holder from Dawnlight hold safe. Khal is not pleased that his rider had done things that prompted this action, but... He himself demanded that it be done. It was a terrible moment, for the dragon to choose to have his rider killed.

But he has remained with the Protectorate, among young ones and old, tending hurts and training weyrlings.

This flight of Light and White dragons at Ryslen weyr has him interested in living again. Or so it seems...

The flight went well. Very nicely, in fact. Khalbalahath rested near his mate, one of them anyway, in the ledges above the sands at Ryslen.

White Oroth gazed at her eggs, Khal knew there were three which had his seed within. He swept his brown-white head and looked at pretty Light-Green Verrath, who also had carried three of his eggs.

Proudly, the males from the Flurry who remained nearby chatted nearly as much as their mates.

It was a good flight. I feel confident in those candidates below. Spoke one. Another added, me too. We should hunt for the ladies, shouldn't we?

Several of the males lept away, to hunt in the snow for their mates. Oroth and Verrath had both fed recently so Khal's obligation to them remained only to be there for conversation.

Do you think that you will ... well, what about our eggs? Who will bond to them? Orroth spoke.

I hope that strong and healthy folk find our children, Orroth. The searchers did a good job.

Something was on Orroth's mind, something beyond Khal's sense. Something about searching, riders, or dragons. He wasn't sure. He didn't really want to pry. He'd done enough of that to last a lifetime.

When the eggs began to shake, and everyone else crooned their delight, Khal found himself watching from above with a distracted note running through his mind. He was proud, oh so proud, of his beautiful striped offspring, and his pretty Flurry Lights with Verrath. They kept coming, though, the eggs which the females laid early and late, some were buried and some had been left on top of the sands.

Pink sands. How odd. Well, not pink. Not pink like that hatchling pink! Or her mother! But when all was said and done, there was something just gnawing at Khal's mind.

He vaguely remembered the sensation. It wasn't like Ri'ngo's mind, it was more... Urgent. More distinct, and more feminine. That was odd. Had he come here to impress again? Was there some brave woman in the stands or on the sand who could be his partner?

No... No, that couldn't be. It was not that he didn't think he was capable of bonding again, but it was... not a human mind! It wasn't a person at all!

It was the lovely shining, irridescent green who sprang from Dantinath and Napzurath's egg -- the moment she strode from her egg everyone knew she meant business.

No one knew it more than Khalbalahath!

I know you're here! She bespoke and looked at the scattered people on the sands. Get your tail down here before I get mad! She stomped a green forepaw onto the sand.

Well that was something, now wasn't it? Khal was nearly as surprised as everyone else in the place. He opened his white-brown wings, and glided overhead only to drop nearby onto the warm sand. The tiny green approached him.

Khalbalahath, how dare you keep me waiting?

Sakishanatath... He bespoke softly, neck arched down to greet his partner. She meant so much more to him than ... Even than Ri'ngo had when they bonded. He all but forgot the pain of their bonding, and let himself protect the green with all his heart.

Sakishanatath raised her wings to the sun, and let the light glimmer off her metallic hide. Khal watched her from above, his calm demeanor belying any true aggression that he would have if any of the younger browns or blues started even glancing in her direction.

You mean that you would protect me? I do not know if I need that, my wonderful friend... Sakish thought to him, while she sunbathed.

But you are quite lovely, and I am sure that they think they could catch you if you rose to fly.

I fly all the time, what do you mean?

Khal took a long breath, and in one strangely long communication, far more complex than any human mind could understand, explained how dragons find their mates.

But that is silly, Sakish pointed out, grinning at him from the ledge, You are my mate.

Khal watched the riders and the weyrling squads do their practice. He and his mate Sakishanatath would not be participating in these events -- there was no point. They had no human connection, no requirement that they knew how to take commands from a wing leader.

But I would like to fly like that, to sing in the air with so many others around me.

Khal chilled at the thought. She did not quite know what she was saying... And she was grown. Bigger than most greens by a bit, though not nearly as large as he was.

Come, let us fly then. The younger weyrlings need our assistance anyway. They fly in sloppy lines.

Gleefully, the metallic green and her light-brown partner went to the fields where the inexpert groups of just-barely-flying ranks had been sorting out their lessons.

Sakish wondered at Khal's odd behavior. She didn't want anything out of the ordinary, did she? After all, the feeling of wind below her wings and the gentle rustle of other wingsails around her would give her great enjoyment.

Only... not one of those bulky males out there would be quite right. And certainly, she did NOT want any of those nasty snippy little greens from her clutch following her out there!

Khal remained worried...