"No, no, no....hold the sword higher, put more strength into your parry. If you
block too low, the other blade can wrap around...like this." Farr'in moved his
sword past B'rand's guard, then slapped his face with the side of the blade.

"Ouch!"

"It'll be worse if Lenna does it, trust me. She loves to attack the opponent's
head, so that you will flinch or blink."

"So, how do you avoid it?"

"Head cuts are very open to a stop-cut. I was just about to show you. Put your
blade at ready, then do the high-low-high parry like I showed you. Cut at my 
wrist after the third."

"Oh...yeah, I see it." B'rand's wrists themselves hurt from an hour of constant
twisting and parrying. "I'm not sure if I want to do that. I almost slashed your 
wrist, and you were expecting it."

"You don't have to go all the way through it, just threaten her wrist closely a
few times. Then, she'll play conservative. Lenna's secret is her forwardness;
once you get her to back off a few times, you've taken away most of her 
advantage. Have you practiced throwing that like I asked?"

For an answer, B'rand grabbed the hilt of his cutlass and threw. The sword
spun end-over-end and crashed into Farr'in's, knocking it out of his grasp.

"Yes, that's what I was looking for. Keep practicing that, and tomorrow we'll
work on tip control. You need a lot of practice with thrusts against opposition.
That should be it for today-take a rest. Heading to eat?"

"Not yet," B'rand said. "I need to see if somebody has something for me."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Count on it."

*******************

C'mon, you sorry bastards, go somewhere!

B'rand's back hurt. Not only did he have to slide across a practice floor for
hours, then he had to be crouching around in the dark. Lenna was mad at
him too, as he wouldn't tell her where he was going. Hard to convince her 
to stay put. 

Ahh, finally they were moving. B'rand straightened, lithely sneaking behind 
the forms of Fr'ougth and My'kel as they walked along the cliff wall. Above, 
the sounds of reptilian bodies moving around made a constant backdrop
against the sounds of joined and unjoined along the canyon floor and the 
rushing of the nearby river. Against the constant background noise, B'rand 
found it impossible to hear what, if anything, they were saying.

Ah, they stopped, innocently at first, looking at the cliff face. Still, B'rand's
blood ran suddenly cold. So innocent...unless you happened to know that
they were looking over at Thina's apartment, where Danyar's twins were. 
B'rand could just bet that they were commenting on the two men who were
sitting outside the door, keeping watch. After a pause, again not so long as 
to bring suspicion, they continued on. 

B'rand followed at a discreet distance, then stooped as he reached where
they had been. Yes, there was the broken boot heel print of Frog's that he
had happened to see in the dining hall one day. Damn it, it still wasn't
enough! Oh, if he was wrong...not only would he ruin everything in Lenna's
family, but he would draw attention away from whomever really did it.
He would simply have to wait until he had more evidence. Well, he was
tired; B'rand moved back, and called to Rook to come and get him; he
had a beautiful warm body to snuggle against in his bed.

<<Me, too,>> Rook thought to him. He chuckled.

*******************

"Now what is it?" Lonnie asked.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, right. Sore is one thing, but you're just plain in a foul mood. Did I do
something?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"I can't say yet...but I will. Definitely by tomorrow. I just have to work on it
myself right now."

"Fine, I guess. I'll be waiting. Must be something big if you won't talk about
it."

"Just what the hell does that mean?"

"You've never passed up the opportunity to air your grievances before.
Loudly."

B'rand smiled. "Go play in some dragon dung."

"Oh, how original. Let's go home, we've covered the area."

*****************

They blinked into the skies over the warren, the wet updrafts from the river
cooling B'rand's face. *Rook, where's Blanchie's rider?*

<<On the green. I'll drop you here and let you walk, I want to go to the 
feeding pens.>>

*Fine, I may be a while...I've pretty well decided to talk to Dan'yar. I think
he would keep a level enough head to listen about My'kel. I have to 
tell  SOMEone.*

<<To each his own...I'll be here.>>

As B'rand walked in the general direction of the medical center, a loud 
challenging roar split the air. B'rand had heard that sound many times;
a female was ready to mate. It certainly sounded high-pitched, though...

<<Tymor?!?>> B'rand could already feel Rook rocking back on his 
haunches, taking flight... already, he was overly sensitive of his dragon,
feeling the almost-duality of the mating instinct.

*Tymor? Brisse?? Rook, you can't, she's not even flying! What the hell 
are you going to do, have a footrace?*

<<She's flying now. Oh, this will be so good, she's still wobbly.>>

*Yeah, and every other male in the warren sees that, too. Rook...
her rider isn't ready for this...*

<<Tymor knows when she's ready. And I will win her.>> The young queen 
had just launched into the air over the fresh remains of a kill, roaring 
another challenge. Oh, the *heat*...it was wild, strange...B'rand could feel 
the power of the attraction, even secondhand through his dragon. Not
even thinking about it, B'rand wandered towards the warrenlady's office,
where a crowd of riders had gathered around Brisse's slight form.

<You are all unworthy! Puny! Weaklings! Scrawny!>

Brisse danced an unconscious dance before the assembled males, in 
a parody of the flight above. Here, she moved to one rider, twisting away
even as her queen swooped away from his dragon...graceful turns as 
Tymor executed a spiral...the male riders inching closer even as the 
rainbow trail of dragons closed upon the metallic queen. Tymor 
turned, turned again, seeing the few that remained close, mocking 
them, egging them on...

<<Got her!!   Whoops...>> Rook's claws scrabbled, caught, raked Tymor's
back, then fell off as she shrugged her shoulder away from his talons.
The queen laughed, started to swoop away to the side, but did not
count on Rook's persistence.

<<You're mine!>> He grabbed her again, his claws sinking deep in her 
back, head snapping forward to bite painfully into her neck.

<<Submit!>> he demanded.

Even on the ground, B'rand could feel the surge of mating instinct as she
struggled hopelessly against Rook's grasp. It was overpowering. B'rand felt
the rush of blood in his ears, hearing only Rook's insistent voice in his
head and Tymor's submission.

<You are worthy, Rook. I will have you.>

He was lost, reveling in the thrill of victory and the overpowering urges of
dragon-instinct. He swept the queenrider into his arms, feeling her hands
slide into his hair even as their lips met. He picked her up, carrying her 
into the very same office he had intended to visit before. Thankfully, it
was empty; they didn't stop to see. The link between he and Rook was 
still everything in his universe. He could feel the dragons landing, 
scrabbling...his clothes were too restrictive, too hot, and he couldn't get
them off fast enough. Gods, the dragons...they were mating now, and Brisse
was calling to him, reaching for him...he didn't see the conflict, the instant of
uncertainty that crossed her face even as his body covered hers, entered 
her...but it vanished almost as soon as it appeared, overcome by lust. 

It was so different than before; Rook had won mating flights, but never with
a queen. B'rand didn't know if it was Tymor being a queen or being so
young, but the mating was wild, stormy, reckless. B'rand felt every shudder, 
every motion of the dragons even as Brisse moaned and sank her teeth
into his neck. The pain brought a second of clarity to his fevered mind, and
he had it...Rook had wanted this dragon! Who knows how long he had 
waited, seething, desiring the moment the queen would rise to mate. He had 
pursured her in the flight with a single-minded obsession , and had won her...
and was now claiming her with an intensity that added octaves to the mating
instinct. Ye gods, Rook had not been so taken up by mating instinct since he
won his first flight...B'rand had a feeling Tymor would remember this, even
beyond it being her first flight. 

Soon enough, B'rand shuddered, climaxing...but he only had a few scant 
breaths to relax before his dragon was mounting the queen again. B'rand
only had a distant recollection of the second mating; he was gasping,
exhausted, his eyes distant with dragon-induced lust when he finally 
collapsed. It was a few moments before he could find the strength to roll
off of the queenrider, but he saw that she was also exhausted. Their bodies 
were covered with sweat , and it was all he could do not to fall off the couch
on which he had placed her. 

*Rook, you are a bad, bad, boy. Tymor was far too young for this.*

<<She was ready. She flew to mate.  As as for too young, I believe you felt
how she was ready.>>

B'rand looked at Brisse, who still had a faraway look. "Gods, Brisse. I'm
sorry. It was the dragons, the instinct..."

"It...didn't hurt."

"Of course it didn't hurt." B'rand felt a flash of anger. "What the hell kind of
monster did you take me for? I don't go around forcing girls-"

Brisse flinched from his wrath. "No, it's not that...I thought it would hurt. I didn't
think...I would enjoy it."

B'rnads anger disappeared as he recalled what had happened to her over
the last few days. "You're right. Please forgive me, I...well, dammit, I don't know
what to say! Tymor was ready to mate, and she wouldn't have done so 
if she thought you weren't ready to handle it. Ah...I enjoyed it, too." And then
some, he thought; it would probably be days before he even thought about
sex. He was completely, utterly worn out.

"You're bleeding." Brisse reached up touched his neck. B'rand winced; she
had bit him deep. Brisse's eyes grew wide. "Did I do that? Oh, B'rand, I'm
sorry."

"It's okay, B'rand said. "I think Lenna has something.. Lenna. Gods! I wonder
how she took it." He saw Brisse's expression, didn't need to ask to know 
she was thinking along a similar vein for Dan'yar...

***********************

Nowhere. She wasn't anywhere in the damn warren. B'rand finally found Lonnie
in the dining hall.

"Where is she?"

"Ah, B'rand, I don't think you need to see her right now..."

"What happened? It was a mating flight, damn it!"

"She lost it, B'rand. She absolutely lost control. You're lucky she didn't tackle 
you at the end. I tried to stop her, explain it to her, but she got away. She flew
away on Blanchie."

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" B'rand asked miserably. "It was a mating
flight, and with a queen, no less. I couldn't have stopped myself, there was no
way."

"She knows. I think she just had to get away for a while. At least I hope so. Do
you know where she might have went?"

"No idea...I guess I'll just have to go home and wait for her. It's
all I can do."

"Do it, B'rand. She knows what happened. She needs you."

*Rook, you willing to  take me home?*

<<Of course, my rider...but then I have a queen to cuddle with.>>

********************

Tag, Barb and Lyn!

I was so close to just fading to black...then I remembered we had newbies.
Couldn't pass up a chance for them to see a mating flight, now could we? :)

B'rand and Rook




Allen Veazey
wolf@dbtech.net
	
	"I'm not really bad, I'm just drawn that way."
			--Jessica Rabbit