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Fit for a Queen; Narcissa's Flight
Topic Started: Jan 16 2014, 03:57 PM (342 Views)
SemperMemor
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Majestic Space Duck
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Winter always brought a sense of peace to her. The soft blankets of white powder covered the land in splendid landscapes of smooth hills had a splendid tendency to erase imperfections of the world. Critical eyes could do little to fault the current landscape as they stared wistfully through a colorless pane of frosted glass. Brilliant pindrops of gentle light reflected from the icy surface, giving the world a lovely, dreamy quality that so often evaded the harsh reality of a military life. The snowfall dampened all sounds, sweeping them beneath the hefty coating of the previous night's storm into silent obscurity. If anyone were to ask her of her favorite season she would undoubtedly answer with Spring, but, if they were of a particularly respectable sort of person Narcissa would often indulge them by devoting the next ten minutes to explaining exactly why the season prior was also a reasonable contender.

Aside from the frosted puffs of one's breath in the air, she would argue, the atmosphere was positively alight with the pheromones of passion from the very dead of the season's frigid grip. She was as hopelessly immune to it as a butterfly in a terrible gust; she took no higher delight in letting herself be immersed in the flood of estrus that so enslaved many of her sisters. Fire lit the burner's in the belly to a savage form of instinctual desire to set the males to a brilliant Chase. The boys were a nice addition, she would add, and they certainly helped when it came time to produce one's heir, but the true prize of the ornate ordeal was the event held at the very threshold of spring's door: the Hatching. Oh, how she adored the attention...and the pride she felt when her own sons had taken to the sands just last year. It was an addictive drug, mothering two fine wyrmlings. She could not have been any happier with her first brood, least of all her dual-natured youngest. Even now as she dwelt upon the past her plumaged shifted, giving rise to a very fluffy, beaming visage while she gazed upon the Academy's grounds with a good deal of contentment.

However, it would not do to sit about for an age and waste the spirit of the cold weather. There was still much work to be done before the excitement ebbed. Despite how her chest burned alight with urgent fervor to begone from this cramped place, she gave no notice of it. Expressing such wanton desire was not admirable, nor was it a very lady-like thing to do. She would be compared with the first-year females that had yet to discover the fine art of restraint. She snorted lightly upon the matter. Narcissa herself had staved off the idea of procreating for many years herself before she eventually, truly, entertained the idea. This year she was of the mind to follow suit once more, but she would not be so quick as to gather unwarranted attention with her haste. It would not do at all.

The Air dragoness tucked her forelimbs beneath the feathers of her bosom and gracefully rose from her absent stupor. Her eyes fell upon the sleeping figure along the opposite side of the warm barack; Eamon had not had the pleasure of a decent night's rest in a fortnight. Even now the young man twitched fretfully in his sleep, a sight that sent her heart to a momentary depression. Webbed feet evaded the sparse furniture with delicate ease, soft so as not to wake the poor man, and extended one fragile wrist to grasp the crumpled bedsheets tossed haphazardly across his midriff. How messy, she remarked with a minor flicker of displeasure. He was always so disheveled, but little could be done about it at the moment. She had much more pressing matters to attend to. The scaled fingers pulled the heavy sheets up and over the man's shoulders with the tender grace of a matron's beloved affection. Even if he was hardly the most tidy or fashion-minded individual, she had to admit he was rather adorable. The corners of her mouth curled into a gentle smile.

Narcissa turned and began to waddle over to the thick canvas that blocked the typically open alcove from the rather lethal drop six stories below. She paused for a moment to spare Eamon one last glance. It was an occasion very much like she had left him in one year prior. Though, this time, he did not rouse to see her depart. Moments later ushered the soft fluttering of weighty canvas and light wings as the dragoness pardoned herself from the lofty room. Wide feathers extended as she fell into the cool air, quickly catching her aloft and steadying her descent while her element pooled around her. Dual sets of wings angled with expertise, guiding her quick, fleeting figure off into the dense jungle to the north. She had already scoped out a potential place to conduct her Flight days prior to make sure of it's authenticity. Thankfully, it had most certainly held true to her high expectations. A gentle call followed in her swift departure, a soft, keening serenade to beckon only the most attune of ear in this attenuated landscape.

Her target location was not so easily seen from above. Half an hour's journey passed before she spotted the bright sheen of a shallow pond. Narcissa's eyes locked onto it and, with some manner of cunning practice, collapsed her wings to dove at it's invitation. Water crashed into her chest as Air met the cold, rippling surface. A forward-and-back bobbing motion steadied her rushing momentum while she folded her wings to proper order, allowing the regal feathers to lie precisely in manicured alignment. She made short work with her beak to smooth out the remaining displaced plumes before the suitors were due to arrive. She would absolutely not look like a scraggly little wretch. Multiple layers of feathers protected the most the majority of her small body from the frigid weather. While she didn't necessarily like to be buffeted by cold winds while her legs were submerged in freezing water for any length of time, she wouldn't become frozen poultry in the environment.

Behind her, the rising walls of an obsidian rock face shielded the small clearing from the very worst of the previous night's wind. The pond at it's base had escaped the treacherous frigidity of the blizzard's wrath and, much to her pleasure, so had the crashing waterfall behind her. Spray bristled from the pond as gravity took hold, flinging fine droplets of cool water upon her back, only to roll off with ease as they met no purchase upon her nonabsorbent plumage. Webbed feet delicately paddled the water beneath her to turn her buoyant figure around to wait patiently. She clasped her forehands expectantly and released another soft, beckoning croon to better guide the suitors to her aquatic throne.





Second verse same as the first! Post with your menfolk arriving and she will announce her conditions of the Flight. c: I'll likely be keeping it brief, but thorough enough for her to select someone of merit.
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Kialish
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In contrast to some others, Pierre was not fond of the cold weather one bit. Sure, he was covered in layers of feathers that held in his bodily warmth, but he couldn't stand even the inkling of icy winds. Since the start of the chill, the rooster air had hidden himself within the warm academy walls, even seeking refuge in the heated sands on the rare occasion. Duren had tried his darndest to get the dragon out, but unless they had vital activities to do, Pierre simply refused. Even when the females started flying, he had stayed holed up. It was very much against his nature to neglect the fine femmes that were gathering to take wing in their broils of estrogen, but he had. For a brief time.

It had started to affect him, the male becoming depressed. Duren had to drag him to the infirmary to make sure he was alright, but the healers gave the same answer each time; He needed to get out and fly, be it to chase females or for the sake of it. Being cooped up indoors and ignoring natures pull was harming him more than doing good.

So it was with much chagrin that Pierre began to subject himself to early morning flights, stretching his neglected wings in order to banish the growing depression. Along the winds he sailed, quartet of feathered appendages rippling against the coldness. He rode on clouds bearing in from the north, thick with precipitation and freezing cold, enough to penetrate his thick feathered coverage. Angling downwards, he flew through the crystalline insides of the clouds, emerging on warmer winds beneath them with ice glittering on his wings. With a shiver, he flapped them off, debating whether or not this had been enough time to head back to the Academy and proceed to whine at Duren...

That was when the call reached his ears. A soft, sirens song, sailing on the northern winds and sending a thrill through his bones. Testosterone began to warm his inner cell as he angled his flight pattern once more, his feathers rippling as he picked up speed and followed her hymn of mating. It had been a long time since he had flown, even more so since he had taken, this year, to shying away from the cold. But, as the saying went, it was better late than never.

He looked around curiously as he got closer to the tree tops of the north, to where he heard the song emanating. It seemed to be near, and yet... He saw no sign of the goddess who called him and other suitors. In time, he found her alcove, slightly hidden from those who viewed it from above. It was a pond, protected by jutting obsidian stones. And in it was-

"Narcissa!" Pierre crowed excitedly. Ah, not only had he been lucky enough to hear a sirens call out here, but it had been one of the most charmingly elegant of females at that! He flew down towards her, angling himself and circling her, a spray of water bursting from where his wing tips touched the surface of the water. "It would be a pleasure to fly for you, my lady." He crooned, staying airborne as they waited for others to arrive.
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Nherva
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Blue silver scales gleamed restlessly beneath the silver lights of the ever-watchful moons above, reflecting fractured beams upon the ground nearby as the Water fidgeted in place. Fathom lowered his head and sniffed at the long healed scar over his shoulder, the only consolation prize from the last mating flight he'd attempted to win. The air was practically vibrating with pheromone laden calls and hormone laced scents he couldn't quite decipher, and his body knew what it should do, but his brain only remembered that heartbreak when he had lost and the wound he'd received. Ahnu had been so angry with him for running off to chase a female without her knowing and getting himself injured. He'd felt the deep hurt squeezing around their bond when the young woman realized he could have left her completely and utterly alone had something horrible happened to him and he understood her anger. He tried to swear he'd never do it again, but the calls he'd attempted to ignore for the last several days had scraped his resolve raw.

Another call, beautiful and serene as the landscape surrounding the Academy, reached his ears hidden beneath his curving metallic horns. Long, translucently webbed wings twitched uncomfortably. Oh he wanted to answer that one. It sounded like a Sonic, for they made some of the prettiest sounds. Her call carried for miles, but he knew in which direction she had flown, calling for her suitors with a siren's enthusiasm to lead the unwary to their doom. "I can't," Fathom argued with himself. "But I waaaant to," he whined, flipping his head one way, then the other. The claws on his webbed feet dug into the stony surface of his ledge as though they would anchor him in place.

A soft clearing of a human throat behind him made his seafoam-teal eyes open wide and he looked back as though he'd been caught in some kind of taboo act. Ahnu stood behind him, pulling a blanket tight across her shoulders and chest to stave off the chill of the wintery air. She was uncomfortable and he knew why. "I am so sorry Ahnu, I just can't help it...," Fathom tried not to whine again, but he was at least truthful about the twinges in their bond that were directly related to the flying females.

"Why don't you go get it out of your system?" She asked, dark bangs shadowing whatever emotion was in her dark eyes. It was such a quick turn around of what the Water expected from his rider that it gave him pause. "Then maybe we both can get some sleep."

"But...I don't want to worry you again." He lowered his head and his frills apologetically.

Ahnu took a few steps forward and placed a hand on his nose with a heavy sigh. "Fathom I was angry because you took on a Taint and could have been killed. This is different. I know these females can be just as choosy and dangerous, but none of them to my knowledge actually intend to leave you for dead...that's what I worry about," she lowered her head, picking a loose scale on Fathom's nose that was ready to fall off. She flicked it away and patted him. "You deserve another chance. Just come back to me okay?"

Fathom's eyes lit with their usual spark and he stood, "Oh thank you Ahnu! I love you, I will be back, I promise!" He trilled happily and nuzzled her, nearly bowling her over in the process.

"Personal space dear! Don't get too close to her too soon," Ahnu shouted to remind him as she righted herself and her Water shoved his glistening coils off the ledge to the awkward flight pattern he was so used to with those odd fin-like wings.

The eager young Water made a bee line in the direction of the call he had heard and so badly wanted to follow. It took him over a vast expanse of jungle canopy to the cliffs well away from the Academy proper. It wasn't anywhere close to Vien where he had first chased Kadrim, and that made him slightly more comfortable. The jungle wasn't quite so harsh as the pine forests where the Mycotic Earth had nearly done him in. The only other thing in his life that had frightened him half as much had been the strange walking dead things in the jungle they had faced along with many others. Nearly losing Ahnu had been terrifying.

Undulating through the chilly air, Fathom came upon the clearing and the small pond where the female waited. It wasn't a Sonic after all! But an Air, with a beautiful voice at that. Her colorful plumage and comfortable way she floated serenely on the water's otherwise glassy surface made Fathom feel not so out of place in an Air flight, even when he noticed the other feathered male hovering nearby. Unable to hover so easily as an Air, Fathom landed heavily on the ground near the pond, beaming at Narcissa. "Hello! I am Fathom, and I heard you calling," he bowed his head--since he had heard that was a polite thing to do for a lady and he was trying to work on his manners. "And I have answered pretty Air," he piped, wishing he knew her name so he could call her by it. His memory for names wasn't so good when he wasn't close to the bearers of those names. Then he looked up at the other dragon who had come, "Good evening sir! May the best win!" He trilled again, feeling no ill will or even competitiveness toward the other male. The Air lady would choose who she would, regardless. But the Water would try his best.
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Nimirra
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Weary wings guided him home, slowly slicing through the chilled night’s air with thoughts still astray. The elusive Gravity’s starlit form still haunted his mind, a weight left in the pit of his boiling stomach long after she’d lifted her magic’s multiplying of the suitors’ bodily mass. The molten sensation let its caustic flows inch into his entirety, strained by both unrequited desires and tiresome fatigue. The fiery grasp of the restless testosterone pulsing through his veins marked the beginning of the season’s influence. Vega’s call to challenge was the first provocation to be answered by the Shadowguarde, but despite his disappointing yield of results, would not be his final opportunity to win himself a mate this year.

It was with that sanguine, comforting reminder that he landed on his quarter’s terrace, clattering to a stop on sapphire talons. Exhausted and not the magic that had previously gained hold of him now weighed his muscles with lead, shifting flowing sinew into rigid steel. He barely made it into his nested loft before his eyelids gave way, shuttering the world into a solidified darkness. Sleep took him with little resistance, seeping into his nervous system and slowing the pounding of his heartbeats to a sedated rhythm. Vibrant plumes rose and fell with the soft intakes and exhalations of breath, the picture of serenity shadowed by the final hours before dawn’s first light.

His dreams were little more than blurred shifts of color and muddled sounds, indistinguishable and abstract. So it was that the chiming call for suitors in the early morning was uncertainly snared between dream and reality. Unfocused amber eyes slatted open, squinting uncomprehendingly at the golden rays cast into his chambers from the curtain he had forgotten to draw in his stumbling stupor hours prior. Grumbling but too drawn by instinctive curiosity to heed the possibility of his imagination running wild, the Air gathered himself to his clawed feet. A wide yawn split his maw, ivory fangs flashing in the morning light while he stretched his long, lean frame.

Feathers rippled in response to trembling musculature, ruffling in order to settle in some semblance of groomed array as he prowled out to ledge once more. Tropical pinions unfurled, fanning against the crisp atmosphere a moment before he took the plunge into the sun-soaked sky, angling himself with the swiveling of his ears to try and pinpoint remotely where his groggy mind had picked up the sweetly sung cry. His best guess proved to be fairly on course as a second call further out rang forth, after he was well underway in his traversing flight towards the jungle. Altering his trajectory with the angling and contracting of primaries, Zeal steadied his eyes to the unseen yet proven dragoness that awaited her suitors’ arrivals.

Eagerly in answer he loosed an eaglin shriek from his throat, bidding the lady be made aware of his oncoming presence and intent to chase. Arcane energies pulled around him as his own element moulded itself into an agreeable slipstream, hastening his travels in accordance to the powerful strokes of twin pairs of pinions. His efforts proved not in vain as the landscape below broke into a rushing waterfall that defied the winter’s frigid grasps, pooling into a sheltered pool far below the dark cliffside from which it spilled. Centered at the rippling water’s heart was a familiar fowl-esque figure that Zeal recognized as he descended in a wide, wheeling spiral. It was good fortune indeed that he had followed his subconscious’ bidding, stumbling once again onto this fair maiden’s voyage for a mate.

“Narcissa!” Zeal’s velveted voice smoothly serenaded, “As glowing and radiant as the dawn you’ve raced awake this morning!”

Finally drawing low enough to the ground, he flashed his quartet of wings in order to land gracefully on the shallows of the shoreline. “But of course, that goes without saying, for an Air so immaculate as yourself. If you’ll have me again, it would likewise be my pleasure to entertain your company once more.” His words were wrapped up with inclining nod of his head, umbrella crest blooming its royal blue feathers in a display of courtship greeting.
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SemperMemor
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Gentle winds swept the water lazily against her belly as she waited, perfectly comfortable in her aquatic environment. Pearly beads clung to the dragoness' extremely hydrophobic plumage in large, fat droplets, only to roll off as gravity eventually took hold. The water was colder than she originally anticipated, she quickly came to notice as the minutes ticked by. While the surface remained as liquid and glassy as ever, it was just above freezing, and she reckoned it would likely not last long if the temperature were to plummet any further. Frost graced the tips of her wings in a fragile layer of intricate symbols. She spared it a glance from her lofty gaze to regard it with a mixture of fascination and mild distaste. While her natural defenses protected her from the very worst of it, she didn't quite fancy becoming a frozen delicacy.

She returned her eyes to the picturesque cloudscape. Cirrus wisps imparted the heavens with white trails of atmospheric ice. On another day she might have challenged herself to reach their great height, to be free and far from the responsibilities of the ground below. Narcissa whistled a soft croon at the prospect. Perhaps her winning suitor might accompany her in a true flight, if he would be able to at all. That much had evaded her previous mate. It was an unfortunate drawback to her choice in men, as she had quickly found out, but he had proved himself to be well worth her time and efforts. Cereus had been caring and gentle, siring her first two, splendid eggs, and had further affirmed her judgement when they had hatched healthy and brilliantly talented. She lingered fondly on the memory of her children, not quite ready to let that first season of success part from her so soon. She ruffled her wings in a fairly content manner. The Air hoped that this season would be just as much of an accomplishment.

Narcissa need not wait long before her silent stupor was interrupted by the most welcome of melodious crows. She cocked an eye at the arriving male from the sky, her gaze softening when she realized just who this first suitor was. A colorful specimen of air and plumage, this male was, perhaps, second in splendor among her kin only to her. Rich blues and greens carved a handsome figure from burnt umbers and rich auburns. "Well met," she cooed in reply. Her feathers ruffled around her, further enlarging her diminutive appearance with a flash of oily color. She was reluctant to speak so plainly with them just yet, for she knew that it was much more advantageous to let them guess at how she truly surveyed them all.

Her second suitor followed shortly after, this time with wings that beat a very different sound than the soft pleating of winds so indicative of her breed. It was a young Water, she noted, and one of rather gorgeous coloring. Her gaze drifted a moment longer than she might have liked upon the pearlescent sheen of his hide. How marvelous that was, she quietly remarked. Cereus had been vibrant enough to match her colorful, but this...was something different. It was enrapturing, the way he moved so fluidly and akin to his element. His cheery voice, however, belied the sultry tenor she might have associated with his rich physique. She nodded without a word, merely allowing the gracious compliments to roll over her shoulders with a haughty acceptance.

The Air dragoness waited a few minutes before she nearly made to set the task before the gentlemen. This low of a number was something she hadn't counted on, she noted with a mild deflation of her crest, but they were hardly ugly. She had that, at least, and was happy enough to continue on without total rejection. The First forbid she did enacted. While Narcissa was proud and vain of herself, and rightly flaunted it, she would not be known to the Academy's gossips that she was too good for a mate. However, a familiar voice of an old acquaintance wrapped so richly in velvet soon graced her ears. She looked up once more, a slight smile adorning the edge of her narrow jaws to recognize the chartreuse suitor from her endeavor last Winter. How handsome Zeal was, and how elegantly tuned he was in his song. She nodded, slowly, and allowed them all time to land comfortably before she began her small prepared speech.


A quartet of wings unfurled with a soft rustling. Not a carefully preened feather out of place, she waded before the three males as a fine statue of elegance. "Good morning," she crooned at last. Her voiced echoed behind her against the curved wall from which the waterfall curled lazily over. She was careful to raise her volume high enough that they might hear her clearly, but as the obsidian rock face was quick to showcase, it magnified and rolled her coy greeting into an amplified projection. "I thank you all for coming here this day to offer your hand in the finest of pairings," Narcissa continued, all too full of herself to truly speak without gushing of her illustrious lineage. "Descended from Royalty and Kyuuen am I, so I should expect nothing less of you from my Flight than that you would give the Empress. Having already arrived thus, you have showcased your taste in the finer of challenges."

"I will not stall for very long," the dragoness spoke. "The task I set before you is one of simplicity, but I urge you to make the best of what you may accomplish. To win my favor each of you will construct me something from the elements around you that best showcases myself." She extended her right wing, sweeping it as if a banner toward the jungle. "You may use anything that you find in the surrounding jungle, this shoreline, the sky, or even the water beneath my feet. Good luck, my suitors. I eagerly look towards your works of art."





Simple task! This will be just one round, so at the very end of your post you should have your characters presenting Narcissa with what they have made. Anything is fair game. Like always, if you have questions, please feel free to ask me. c:
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Nherva
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Fathom had trouble paying attention to a lot of different things. However, when a female rose and he answered her call, he had no trouble at all hearing out what she had to say. That was why his eyes remained fixed upon Narcissa in her pond, listening intently both to her greetings and her instructions. His frills dropped slightly in thought as she gave her expectations and he realized this was not so unlike the Air he'd chased before. She'd wanted them to gather items in the forest, which is what led him to his harrowing experience with that monstrous Mycotic, and now once again he was asked to retreat into the jungle, search the shoreline of the pond, or use the very elements to impress her. Surely it would not end like the last? No. It couldn't. This female was too pretty for barbarity, he thought.

When she released them, Fathom bowed once more and took his heavily muscled coils sauntering off into the jungle. He wished to be away from the other males, mainly so they would not cheat and look over his shoulder, or he would not be tempted to do the same. He pondered when he was by himself, thinking of Narcissa's bright plumage and noble bearing. She was related to Kyuuen and expected the same sort of respect and admiration that would be lent that lineage. She might as well have been a queen. And a queen needed a crown.

The spark of an idea flashed through the young Water's mind and he bounded off toward the cliffs that rose up behind the pond the Air dragoness had chosen to wait for them. Ahnu loved jewelry. Not as much as fine clothing, but she did love it. Fathom didn't have much in the way of experience with females, but what experience he did have told them that many of them liked to be pretty and enjoyed pretty things. And, if Narcissa was royalty, she deserved a crown! The shimmering silvery Water came to a halt at the base of one large rock face. Sinuous neck snaking around while his eyes sought his glittering prize, he perked when he saw them, dangling several feet above his head, preserved by the chill in the shadowed part of the cliff.

Very carefully, the Water stretched upward, using his long body to reach the icicles. They would only be a temporary thing, a fleeting beauty, but beautiful as diamonds made by his own element. Technically, Narcissa's element and his element together, if one thought about it. Carefully, he plucked five from the cluster hanging down from the cliff and set them upon a rock nearby while he went back into the jungle surrounding him. It was going to be difficult to find something to put them together with, being that winter had forced most of the plants and vines to become brittle. Oh how he wished he was an Ice so that he could create a much prettier crown than one woven together with twigs, one that Narcissa would no doubt find so beautiful that she would at the very least tell other females about him even if she did not pick him. He was, in a way, the black sheep in this whole ordeal, the breeds of all the dragons here Air, while he was Water--an ungraceful one at that.

Fathom tried to push those thoughts from his mind as he searched fervently for a proper vine to braid together and hold the icicles. If he was lucky, by the time he was finished it would be chilly enough to really stick it all together. Finally, at long last he was able to find some resilient vines that were not so brittle that they broke when bent. He began his return to the cliff face and stopped near the edge of the trees, where a gleam caught his eye. "Oh, what's this?" He asked himself aloud and moved closer to investigate. In the dirt near where he'd entered the trees, lay not one, but two of his own dropped scales. They must have fallen off when he brushed up against the trees.

Ahnu loved using his iridescent scales to weave into clothing and even make into jewelry if they were small enough, perhaps Narcissa would like them too? They were pretty shiny after all, though Fathom hardly ever gave them much notice, since for him there were shinier dragons around. He plucked the scales from the ground and went back to his icicles, setting to work diligently, however painstakingly to do what he'd seen Ahnu do before and weave together the vines to hold the 'gems' he'd found for his crown. It took what felt like forever, and he was almost certain that the Air dragoness would have chosen a suitor by now and flown off with him while he was dallying around with his creation, but he tried not to let that ruin his focus. There were a lot of things he needed to work on, and focus in the midst of distractions was one of them.

"Aha! There!" he piped triumphantly, curling the vine into its final shape. But it would not remain that way on its own, so he had to help. Though he was no Ice dragon, the weather had proven plenty cold enough to keep the icicles solid even thought his meddling, so he took a chance and tried to build up a circlet of freezing water onto the vines to solidify them in place. It took even longer to wait for it to freeze solid enough, but Fathom's patience was tested, and it was finally complete. Pleased with himself and the diadem of ice and scale, the young Water took his creation back to the pond, hoping to still find the brilliantly plumed dragoness in wait.

Fortunately, it seemed he had not taken so long as for her to fly away. He came to the edge of her pond quietly and cleared his throat to get her attention. "Pardon me miss, but I have completed your task. I hope you like it," he brought the sparkling crown of ice around and set it upon a flat rock at the water's shore. "A crown, fit for a queen, I do hope. Though you are plenty pretty without it if you ask me," he told her, trying not to speak too much and thereby annoy her. He wanted to tell her how hard he worked on it, but that would be a story for later, for his rider, so she could be proud that he'd learned something from her.

((Dear god help me he's so simple xD ))
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Kialish
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It wasn't long before other suitors arrived. Of course, who would dare deny this sirens call! Such beauty emanated from her entire being, from her delicate water proof feathering to her expressive eyes, and perfect singing voice.... Ah yes a true beauty, a true female. The first to arrive after him was a shimmering water dragon. He was pretty in his own sense, scales shining with an oily sheen as he entered the scene. And then after that was the chartreuse air, his scales brighter than anything else, in color at least. He dipped his head to his competition, as a true gentlemen, but spared them no words, still lazily flying around the duck like female.

When she was sure that these were all who came, she announced her greeting, and her challenge. The rooster air thought and rolled her artistic challenge around his mind, debating how best to attack this problem. He wasn't entirely artsy himself, but she demanded something beautiful, and he would supply! Before he had set off, he watched the water dragon skittered off to put together his own idea, but did not stay to see. He too departed from the small alcove, ideas bubbling to the surface of his mind... He would need supplies, pretty things.

He dove to the forest floor, trotting around and nosing close to the ground in search for flowers. Of course, it was too cold... There was hardly any more colorful flora to be found! Pierre sighed, having to switch his idea. He wandered along the forest, spying... feathers! Yes, feathers of songbirds and phoenixes littering the ground. He carefully picked up what he found, continuing to seek out the colorful gifts from the birds. Idly he wondered if they had died or simply molted these, but right now,it was no his problem.

Claw full of feathers, he took to the sky and headed back. He flew as high as he could manage, feeling the cold seep into his dense feathers. Yes, this was the air he needed. He dive bombed back into the pond, calling upon the wind to follow him. It trailed after his wings, forming a small cyclone as it was pulled down and down... As he reached the pond, he released his feathered finds and pulled up, throwing the thin cyclone into the water, away from the female as to not hurt her. He flapped his wings, using them to direct the chilling air to strike the pond and pull water up. As the water was dragged up by the force of the high atmosphere air, it began to freeze, like a chrysalis. The feathers froze within the sculpture, flecks of reds, blue, greens and browns shining within.

When the air dispersed in a cold breeze, what was left as a reverse cyclone of frozen water, almost see-through in its clarity and tinged with hundreds of abandoned feathers. Pierre looked over to the female as he landed on the shoreline, bending a leg and bowing to her.

"To my most beautiful of females, I present to you this sculpture," He presented, wings spreading with gusto. He saw the water present her with a little crown, made of ice and scale, before glancing at his own 10 foot tall masterpiece. He suppressed the urge to smugly mock the other males presentation. She might just fancy the small things....
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Nimirra
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Meathods of Madness
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Despite being surrounded by a marvelous pair of fellow suitors that had preceded his own arrival, Zeal had eyes only for the meticulously painted and primed beauty that bobbed in the clear spring before them. Her deliberate, demure inclination of her heavily crested crown in his direction made his own myriad of tropical plumes ruffle in a fulsome shiver down the length of his spine. His notice and acceptance into the dragoness’ courtship trials pumped adrenaline into his veins, coursing with the heavy beats of his eager heart into a tempo as buoyant as the waters that bore the Air he sought affections from.

Zeal’s careful tracing of each perfectly preened feather into memory was interrupted as Narcissa waded forward, managing to make her waddle into an elegant dance rather than awkward gait as most would only be able to accomplish. Her greeting was carried with the augmented effects of the natural obsidian wall’s amphitheater, allowing her to be easily heard by all three males over the roaring of the falls behind her. The proud heritage she had announced from his past flirting attempts to win her remained in her personal introduction once again, offering a reminder of the rarity that they sought to chase in both brilliance and in bloodline.

The challenge she laid at their feet was one which Zeal had never faced before. Not a demanding show of strength or wit, but the more eloquent, daunting depiction of artistic talent and symbolic reverie. While the oily iridescence of the Water’s scales shimmered off into the depths of the jungle and the rooster-like Air took to the skies for their individual brainstorming, the chartreuse Shadowguarde was left to ruminate on his own ideas. Several half-formed theories were discarded before allowed to take fully animated forms, until a fleeting idea struck like a hammer ringing upon an anvil.

With the careful expansion of his double pairs of wings, he carefully took to the skies until he was coasting along the high bank of the obsidian rock face. Hawkish eyes scanned the surface, looping carefully beneath the thunderous waterfall to glide behind its rushing white foam until he spotted what he’d hoped desperately to find. A cavern lay carved out naturally from behind the cascade, slick but invitingly large enough to allow the Air passage once he’d secured a grip with his talons enough to fold in his quartet of pinions. Carefully, he eased himself inside the cave’s lip, pupils dilating to combat the dim lighting that only the hollow’s entrance provided.

Meticulously he scanned the walls, the floors, searching for what only luck and the correct elemental alignment could hope to yield for his wishes. Slowly the width of the tunnel expanded, and while convenient for his needs, provided more space to carefully rove over with both eye and talon. A dull flash caught his amber gaze, luring him in like a fish caught on a line. Dark tipped finger digits traced talons gently over the innocently deceptive stone, a small smile twitching at the corners of his muzzle. With the hope that what he sought lay just beneath the surface, he summoned a slicing scythe of wind upon the rock with keen precision focusing the honed gale.

Another few carefully orchestrated cuts and the preliminary work was complete. Carefully he extracted the octangular carved notch, breaking free with the rough stone face with a cluster of unpolished quartz clinging to the wall’s exterior, once in an unbroken vein until the Air had completed his preliminary work. The dull crystal was swiftly transported to a nearby pool; water stirred with gyrating winds as scrubbing silt and washing water helped polish the facets. Once an examining eye deemed it to be as naturally polished as unprofessional means could muster, Zeal turned tail and clattered his way out of the chasm.

Copper bands brushed across his royal primaries flashed as a combination of sunlight and glittering droplets of water refracted to announce his return. Fluttering to the reconvening males below, the Shadowguarde brandished his own tribute to the descendant of royalty.

“Truly, all the offerings made today are worthy of your regality. However,” Zeal crooned with svelte tenure ringing within his words, “I offer you a gift as naturally beautiful as you yourself.” With a sweeping bow animated by the flaring of his right wings and sweeping of his left across the ground before his forelimbs, revealing in his clutching talons a cluster of amethyst, pale and translucent lavender at the base, fading to violet the shade of Narcissa’s own irises at the roughly hewn tips.
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Feathers settled back into their natural alignment as the Air surveyed her suitors reactions to the task at hand. They seemed perplexed at first, or nearly, if their absent expressions were anything to go by. Excellent, she thought, and nearly made to inflate her plumage with a voluptuous burst of pride. Her request itself was entirely simple in design, but there was plenty of room for them to get entirely creative enough to appease her rather high expectations. She at least managed to get their minds moving in clockwork fashion, or so it seemed, for a few moments of contemplation later led to their swift departure from her presence.

An erratic sigh escaped her stiff muzzle when they left her alone at last. She settled her wings and rustled them again and again in her anticipation. While in the company of others she would have heavily refrained from showing such childish glee, Narcissa could barely contain her excitement. Oh, how wonderful and regal she would look upon the sands again with her eggs. She would certainly be the most attractive one there, of that she had now doubt. What would be in store for her this year? Would it be an Ice, should she choose the Water? That would please her to no end. Would it be an Air, at last? Her own, revered kind, or perhaps she would be blessed anew with another hybrid child? How marvelous that would be, to be so lucky with her offspring twice in a row. She couldn't help but let a merry chirrup resonate within the echoing pond.

Rustling from the jungle drew her attention back to her suitors. She surveyed the cumbersome forest with an expectant gaze. Fathom had been the one to try his luck in there first, and it was him to return in such a fashion. Narcissa couldn't immediately see what the opalescent male held between his talons until he brandished it before her with a humble clearing of his throat. He set it upon a flattened stone along the shoreline, presenting her with what appeared to be a dazzling headdress. She waded over to it, the tips of her webbed hind feet brushing against cool, rounded pebbles as hovered before the rock. A small pair of orange forelimbs reached from the depths of the biting water to gently cup the tiara in dextrous hands. For all it's temporary form of existence, it was still quite remarkable and incredibly fitting for her. Now this...was worthy of a queen. The iridescent quality of his scales against the glittering ice yet again proved to be something of a mesmerizing feat. She turned it around, inspecting it with a critical eye, and offered a warm smile it's crafter. If she were not so vain and high upon her metaphorical horse she might have felt heat rise to her face at Fathom's compliments. She settle nodding coyly at the Water before placing the fixture carefully upon the stone.

Narcissa's rapt attention was wrenched away a few minutes later to a flash of movement up above. An astonishing free-fall graced her vision, at the very helm of which appeared to be the colorful fowl male brandishing a tailwind from the high recesses of the atmosphere. The very sight of it made her chest ache to be so free and daring, only to be fueled exponentially upon the Air's final act. Wind howled and crashed into the water beside her, twisting it in frigid spires the likes of which towered even above her. She steadied her jaw from opening on it's own accord, peddling backward enough to give Pierre a wide enough berth to concentrate upon his task. Color flashed from within, a mixture of proud plumage and hundreds of discarded scales that captured hues in a way that bounced light all along it's flash-frozen interior. When he was finished and announced it so stately the Air dragoness fluttered her wings briefly to acknowledge the impressive feat.

Her final suitor arrived shortly after, winging his way regally down to greet her directly upon the edge of the pond. The Shadowgarde's bow sent a jolt of giddy elation throughout her body. It was not every day that such a highly decorated officer would present such a sweeping movement to one outside of his rank. Webbed feet guided her over to inspect what Zeal held so carefully between his talons. His voice weaved a serenade worthy of ovation, tickling her vanity so vibrantly that it positively oozed between her teeth. She started down at the gem held before her, inspecting it by cocking her head in various fashions to admire her own visage gleaming back at her in rich shades of amethyst. Her crest rose a fraction while she offered the Air a coquettish grin for his efforts.

When at last the suitors had all presented their handiwork, Narcissa eased herself up out of the water and stood upon the shoreline. Water gently lapped at her hocks, by now tingling uncomfortably with the merciless cold. Droplets beaded upon her belly and dripped back into their pool while she waddled as gracefully as an off-kilter dragoness truly could. Her wings extended anew, welcoming the comfort of her true element back beneath her feathers. While the cool water made her feel at peace and of home, now was not the time to embrace it. She was a creature of the sky and, upon choosing her mate, would greet him only as such.

"Once again, I thank you all for gracing me with your company this day," she cooed, eyeing each of them in turn with a semblance of warm scrutiny. Her feathers expanded from their housing, amplifying the small Air's body to appear slightly larger than she actually was beneath the eyes of her much larger company. "Your efforts have been valiant, even in this most mundane of tasks. You have taken my requests and flown with them, giving me works of art that I would be very proud to take with me. Unfortunately, I can only claim one of you fine gentlemen as a mate this season, but I assure you that I would have been pleased to take any one of you into the skies."

Violet orbs rested first upon the glimmering Water. She admired his attractive scaling yet again, becoming momentarily absorbed by the natural phenomenon as his body moved beneath the light before she finally addressed him. "The crown you have fashioned me is truly remarkable. It is regal, and, though temporary, exemplifies your natural opalescence. I admit that on a few occasions this morning I have become lost in that regal sheen. You are as crafty as you are handsome," Narcissa added.

"Your sculpture, Pierre," she continued, regarding the rich-hued Air next while sweeping a wing toward the enormous spire of ice and color, "Is nothing short of remarkable. It is gorgeous, and cunningly made. You utilized our shared element's expertise and combined with one that you do not have mastery over. That in itself is worthy of the highest praise, but combined with your own plumage and scales you have impressed me with something I would not have expected to see. I commend you highly for your efforts."

When the Mandarin-plumed dragoness turned at last to her final suitor, she padded quietly out of the water to fully address him. "However, I think it is here that I make my choice." Her eyes found the roughly-cut jewel once more and regarded it fondly before she elevated her gaze to that of her suitor's loftier one. "Zeal, you have impressed me beyond my expectations with simplicity and humble words befit of a queen. You have fashioned me a gemstone from the very earth itself and showcased a rather...beautiful visage from it's mirrored surface," Narcissa continued, eyeing her reflection again with scarcely contained wiggle. With a quick flurry of feathers the small Air backed away and leapt into the whining winds of the cool morning. Currents weaved and parted at the behest of the young dragoness, swirling zephyrs beneath her wings to carry her ever higher into the keening sky. She looked back down upon the chartreuse Air and cooed, gently, for him to follow her wake. "Come and join me, O' Shadowgarde, for a flight that I know you have long yearned for."
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