Try not to think. {Liliph's Third Flight}

[Lan]

It was early morning. The traces of dawn were trickling over the sky like a light blue mist, slowly diffusing up from the horizon. Crows of certain vocal simourv could be heard alerting the approach of day, and surely riders were waking up for their day watches or their sweeps. For the moment, though, there were not very many of those giant birds in the air, decorating the heavens with their various colors of bright or dull feathers. There was at least one, though. The guardriders Fe'ra and Liliph were returning home, having switched out with Xo'li and Shadoph as the day shift came about, and at the very least the greenrider was tired from her night's work. The call of morning meant sleep time for her, who had worked herself quite nicely into a schedule where she would finish her night watch before retiring. It had seemed like any other day... other than Liliph's peculiar behavior.

The green simourv had had to be woken up to give Fe'ra a ride back to the Eyrie. Sometime during the night her resolve to stay awake had failed her and she had drifted in and out of sleep. While at first she tried to keep her awake, Fe'ra eventually gave up and figured Liliph would wake up if any real danger came about. As a result, her watch had been more boring than usual. Without the chatty green to keep her company, she had found herself fighting to stay awake as well. So the vision of home and her eyling made her thankful for the much-needed rest she would soon be getting.

Liliph came to land on her shelf and Fe'ra easily slipped off her back. After removing the harness and restraints from both of them, the teenage rider all but collapsed on her bed. Twitch stirred with a surprised exclamation from beneath her sheets, his tail having been caught beneath her as she fell. "Sorry, bud," she mumbled, turning over to drag blankets over her slender form. Twitch, clearly not wanted, hopped from his perch on her cot and left the eyling without another sound. He would find something else to do more exciting than watching his master sleep. Perhaps that loud-dog in man-with-big-blue-bird's place would have some food lying around that he could steal.

Sleep was not to be had, however. Fe'ra soon found herself teetering on the edge between asleep and awake, unable to fully cross over. She stretched and spun herself into a cocoon in her sheets, convinced she simply wasn't able to get comfortable. Yet this itching, maddening feeling still stayed. Suddenly it was like there was a fire in the pit of her stomach, accompanied by this intense longing and desire that could not be doused by a mere lack of sleep. Liliph cooed into the night, spreading her wings as if to pose for all to see her glistening green feathers sprinkled with lighter green-yellows. When she jumped from her ledge the young rider leapt from her bed. Her eyes, brown and dark already, were all the more dark by her dilated pupils straining to capture as much light as possible in that early morn. Her stomach lurched. Her head swirled with emotions unlike any of her normal human feelings.

Liliph! Fe'ra's plea did not register with the simourv. Already Liliph was at the feeding pens, tackling a sheep all woolly and white to turn it red with the blood she stole readily from its neck. Yet, for all her fierce demeanor, there was also something lady-like in her movements. She was a lady, after all. Not a splash of the red liquid would stain her feathers. No; she would be perfect... Perfect and beautiful and sparkling in the dim light of the morn. The other green that had flew so recently would be nothing in comparison to her splendor. She was the great Liliph, of course! How could the boys say no? Usually so vocal and chatty, the green reverted to a primitive state where human speech was unnecessary. Done with her sheep, she hopped onto a nearby stone and warbled her challenge to all the males in the Eyrie. It was loud and clear, ringing like a bell through the morning mist. The cold chill from the winter meant nothing to her now. She was warm from the inside out. With a coy flick of her long feathered tail, she launched herself into the skies with all the speed she could muster. Some males were already watching her, she knew, and she longed for them now to make themselves known.

Fe'ra shouted, not so much a scream as a bright and unintelligible exclamation of what was now happening to her. Waves of inhuman passion swept through her, taking her in pulses that crashed through her entire body. She was able to return to her senses long enough to untangle herself from the sheets and stand up before her mind merged with the raging hormonal beast that was now the bright and small green taking off like a shot into the sky. It was particularly strong this time. She knew not why, nor was she even sane enough to try to comprehend it. Perhaps it was because another green had flown so close and Liliph was trying to outdo her. Perhaps it was because it was morning and Liliph had had a nap before her flight. Not even the stars could tell. But at this moment the desires and lust of the flight took her more intensely than even Liliph's first flight. It was almost painful.

Liliph shrieked tauntingly into the sky and Fe'ra whimpered in response in her eyling. Her feet stumbled over each other and she eventually reached out and grabbed hold of a wall, which one she couldn't tell. She couldn't see the walls or the floor or the ceiling. There was only the great expanse of sky and the drafts of wind calling her name. Green wings took the place of arms and beat harshly to push themselves faster, faster... Feathers dotted her skin and brown eyes turned amber and far-seeing. A beak now clicked in excitement and tasted the air rushing past her face, whistling past her great ears. Soon they were together, indistinguishable between which partner was which. There was only the whole. There was only the one. And soon all the boys would be calling their name.

[Fox]

Dawn had not yet fully broken over the Eyrie, but Seronaph was awake, wide-eyed and for once quite content to appreciate the late winter morning. His would be up soon enough; K'ean always rose with the dawn no matter when he toppled into bed the night before, with the exception of the mornings after a Flight. The red really would have preferred his rider's company at that point, especially since he was in a rare, mellow mood (for a red), but in the same good spirit he saw no point in waking K'ean before he needed to wake. It was never a very good idea to do so anyway, and especially not with any kind of urgency. Jumping into K'ean's slumbering mind too abruptly tended to result in the redrider lunging into the world of the living with his hand immediately going for the sword-stand by the side of the bed. It took far too long to calm him down, after that, and while Seronaph occasionally did find it terribly amusing, it was something that couldn't be done too often for fear of him actually losing his edge.

The simourv was just becoming aware of the restless turn of K'ean's thoughts (that indicated he was on the verge of waking) when a surge of movement in the canyon below caught his eye. Surprised, as he recognised the form immediately as another simourv, Seronaph turned his amber eyes onto the green in the feeding pens. It didn't take long for anticipation to begin, as he watched Liliph-- he recognised her lovely green form all too easily-- tear her way through a sheep in a manner that was only ever seen right before her Flight. And if, judging by the feeling of flightlust beginning to build in him, that assumption was not far off the mark. Seronaph was already airborne and circling, before Liliph had even left the pens, and when she leapt into the air like an arrow shot from a bow, issuing her sweet challenge, he was her red shadow following her into the morning skies.

Forgotten in the eyling, K'ean's foggy, unformed dreams took a rather more interesting turn, as the effects of the flight began to impose themselves on him. He frowned in his sleep, tossing about for a few more moments before coming awake with a start, realising almost immediately that Seronaph was not in the eyling. He was about to reach out, about to demand of the red where exactly he was going at this time of morning, when a wave of feeling rolled over him that almost sent him sprawling. K'ean froze. He shut his blue eyes as he cautiously, reluctantly, slipped into Seronaph's distracted mind, and it did not surprise him in the least when the red's vision showed him Liliph, resplendent in the pre-dawn light and glowing with the brighter plumage and colouring that always came before a female Rose. Resignation settled heavily in the pit of his stomach, even as he found himself getting out of bed, his body moving almost by rote as Seronaph's overpowering presence began to take over K'ean's consciousness.

It wasn't long before he found himself at the door to Fe'ra and Liliph's eyling, with no memory of how he got there at all. But by this point, K'ean was almost used to Flights, and his face was determinedly stoic as he pushed open the door to enter. He stopped at the door, eyes caught on the folded form of the girl who had been one of his guardriders before his appointment as a Wingletmaster, and his lips tightened. Seronaph was determined to catch Liliph again, as he had when she flew a second time, and K'ean... Although he did not actively dislike Fe'ra, K'ean really just wanted the flight to be over and done with.

[Aikaph]

Shadoph knew this day was coming. Ever since he watched his emerald queen fell without him, in the claws of a stinking Red, he had fallen into a depression worse than his boiling anger at Seronaph for stealing away what was his. He didn’t snap off his sarcastic remarks half as often, and even when they did appear, it was only half-hearted. It saddened Xo’li to his very core, and even the painting that gave him his namesake that his father had sent with Ivory no longer brought any spark of joy to the Blue’s now-dull eyes. Even the black fuzzball was affected; rather than running around like a deranged psychopath, she nestled herself next to Shadoph’s head and licking his beak to show that even she wanted him to come out of his misery and back into the light.

The artist was currently drawing an abstract of what he saw as Shadoph’s emotions (yes, he was drawing at one in the morning) when a shriek snapped his and His’ head up ant towards its source. Quick as a bolt of lightning, Shadoph was after her, leaving no say for His. The man was still trying to recuperate from the sudden mood swing by the time his feet had dragged him away from his art (which by now looked like a poorly-drawn bandaged heart), out of his eyling, and towards Fe’ra’s room for the third time.

The pale blue wasn’t planning on letting the emerald queen of his presence, like last time, until he saw him. the horrid Red that tore his beauty from the sky! With a scream of challenge, defiance, and devotion, he lunged for Seronaph’s head with beak agape and talons outstretched, planning on leaving a blow that would keep him from winning what was His. Content with his action, he pumped his wings to gain on Liliph. I am here, Liliph! his mindvoice sang, avoiding the vile creature behind him. He wasn’t worthy of this treasure of the skies. Nobody was.

Xo’li wasn’t used to this much devotion. Was it the contrast between the depression? Probably. All he knew was that his Blue was finally showing every color of his being in this Flight.

And you know what?

Xo’li loved it.

[Kat]

Ros’n planned to sleep in, but Wegmeph felt unusually agitated, and his frantic state kept her from slumber. After waking a few minutes earlier—maybe ten, maybe twenty, perhaps only five—an eternity, Ros’n’s finally gave up falling back to sleep, and she sat up, so that her blanket fell around her, leaving her body exposed to the air. She wore a thick, long-sleeved shirt, to keep her limbs warm, but when the cold air hit her torso, she had to wrap her arms around her body to keep herself warm. If she nuzzled back into her blankets, Ros’n would just be upset by the fact that she could not return to sleep. As soon as the bluerider woke up, though, her eyes swelled, growing into thick, green discs, as she watched her blue simourv launch himself from her window in a flash of bright, light blue.
Where are you going?
Ros’n snapped as she ran to the window to watch her simourv take to the air. She wore a pair of light, cotton pants which were warm enough as long as Ros’n remained under her covers, but which felt far too thin now. She shivered, but she did not move from her position.
Liliph flies, mine. I must chase. She is a radiate beam in the sky.
Wegmeph announced as he jerked higher and higher into the sky.

Wegmeph lived for flights, in a way, because they allowed him to act in a free way which he could not allow himself to indulge in when he was not consumed with the uncontrollable passion of the events. He shrieked into the air, taunting the other males around him, calling, almost pleading to Liliph, in a trumpeting, thick way. He had a powerful voice, and uncontrolled by his usually stoic, stiff, and calculated demeanor, it radiated from him in primal waves of passion and desire. While Wegmeph loved to fly, Ros’n grew tired of the procedure. She had long before gotten used to the event, but she hated it for the most part, as it usually ended in unrequited passion and frustration, and acted as a horrible disrupter in her day. Ros’n had things to do today. The flight would make her quite occupied for a few hours, and she was not sure how she was going to deal with the issue. Perhaps Nieneph would not fly, which meant if she could get a message to D’van, maybe he could find someone to cover her shift. The woman stood at the opening to her Eyrie, her body hanging out into the air, almost as if she was going to tumble to the ground. Of course, Ros’n was never in danger, as she could ground herself in the familiar space under the worst circumstances. She lived there, and she knew the space.
”Wegmeph, you stupid bird, we have to start heading to watch in Chydyn now. You need to come back.”
Wegmeph did not hesitate in his flight. He continued to fly towards his goal, completely ignoring his rider’s comment. She would submit to his will, Ros’n would, and he had the power to make her oblige him this freedom. The blue simourv shrieked into the air, but whether or not the scream was directed towards Liliph, her suitors, or his rider was unclear.

While Wegmeph dashed towards his goal, his rider sulked towards her friend’s Eyling. Of all the people who she could end up in bed with, Fe’ra would be a good choice, and yet, Ros’n did not want to have to deal with the aftermath of that—of ending up in bed with one of her best friends or of missing her watch because she was sleeping with someone. It was just an unpleasant situation. The passion radiated through her, made her limbs ache with it, but she did not wish to act upon it. Not this time; Wegmeph had just chased Niataph. Why did he have to chase every female besides Eceph? By the time Ros’n reached Fe’ra’s Eyling, she was practically stewing in both her passion and her steadfast choice not to submit to it. Of course, flightlust was impossible to ignore, but Ros’n wanted to try, because she wanted to make her shift. She did not want Wegmeph to catch. She did not want to be here, at least not this morning.
”Can we speed this process up, Fe’ra? I have to—“
But Ros’n did not finish her words, because the desire overtook her. She moved until she sat on the bed, pulling her knees to her chest, as if she wished to squeeze the passion out of her.

[Evkav]

The morning light was barely seeping over the hills and into the canyon and yet already there were many stirring in their beds. Many had to leave to swap over for their watch and B’oone was just lucky he did not have to go just yet. He lay in bed, his eyes open, staring up at the ceiling of his eyling. It was a rather dull place in his opinion but, then again, he thought everything was rather dull. For some reason the man just could not seem to find any pleasure in anything, except, of course, in the freedom of riding and work. Many would call him work obsessed but that was a slight understatement. For some reason though, on that morning, he did not feel the need to actually get out of bed. So instead he just remained there, completely still save the rise and fall of his chest.

A strange feeling was coming over him, one that he could not explain though distantly recognised. Sitting up he heard a loud noise ringing through the eyrie. Then, he saw his simourv. The large red was poised on his ledge, looking down into the canyon. His mind was full of thoughts but they were such a muddle B’oone found it hard to distinguish one from another. Shaking his head he stood and walked over to where his red was perched. Glyph, he questioned slowly, searching his simourv’s eyes for something that would give him away.

A flash of green suddenly alerted him to what he was doing. Looking across to the skies he watched one of the simourv’s take flight. He was just about to turn back to his simourv when the red jumped off the ledge and took to the skies too. Staring out at his red, a scowl found its way onto his face. Dumb beast, he cursed although he was sure that his simourv would not be able to hear him anymore. Shaking his head he turned to move back to his bed, simply trying to ignore the fact that his simourv was more interesting in females. B’oone knew full well that Anoglyph was only doing this to prove that he was the best on Pohono which really was not quite true. Of course, if Glyph was beaten by a blue again he would become even more determined. He had been on many flights before and by now B’oone was simply getting sick of it. The flight lust, when it took over, was just a pain in the ass.

The large red took off quickly and pursued his goal. The female was not as far ahead of him as he had thought she would be. As he flew he could see one other red and two blues. One of the blues he recognised as Wegmeph, whom he really did not like. It would be his goal to beat Wegmeph and Glyph would most certainly succeed. The other blue he did not see as much of a threat. In Glyph’s mind, if he did not know their name then they were not of great importance. The other red however he though he recognised but could not quite put a name to the feathers. The green that was flying though, that emerald beauty, he knew. It was Liliph, his sister, not that it mattered much. Wegmeph too was from the same clutch, though he had not seen his brother in a while. In truth, he had not seen many of the others in a while.

Anoglyph flew up higher into the skies, planning to come down on Liliph from above. From his knowledge, simourvs rarely looked above themselves for they were really the only threat from the skies. However in flights it was different, it was always changing. Liliph was a smart creature but hopefully, Glyph was smarter. As he flew above her he sunk lower down, aiming to grab her with his powerful claws. This plan would work and he would make sure of it too.

Meanwhile, the red rider was completely unaware of the fact that his legs were moving underneath him. His thoughts were completely consumed by the ones of lust from his simourv. In a few short minutes he found himself in another eyling, one that was not his. B’oone was not sure how he had made it there but looking around, he saw a few others with him. Firstly, there was Fe’ra whom he knew quite well, the newly appointed Wingletmaster K’ean who was still not completely known to him. The final rider that was there was a girl he knew very well. Ros’n was not on his most trusted list and he had barely spoken a word to her in a while. She was sitting on the bed in what looked like the foetal position. B’oone leaned against the wall and rubbed his temples, trying to get some sense back into his mind.

[Lan]

Higher and higher into the sky Liliph flew, cooing and cawing and making a proper display of herself. She was the loveliest green in all the Eyrie! Without much thought to her suitors she dipped and dived and climbed, her directions changing as fickle as the wind itself. She liked flying. She liked this feeling of having the entire world open before her and there being no limitations or reputations to fight against. There were no preconceptions. It was only during these times that the silliness of speech and gossip were lost to her in this incredible and overwhelming freedom. Yes. Freedom. Let those silly males try to catch her, if they could! She was not to be outmatched!

As Liliph settled into a less violent mood, the pain in Fe'ra gut lessened. Slowly the familiar exhilaration returned to her, no less distracting and consuming but at the very least less tormenting. As the males took to the skies for Liliph, Fe'ra was at the very least aware of who stood in her eyling. K'ean and Xo'li, as always, were there, and Ros'n had showed up too. But there was one presence there that Fe'ra had not expected. Yet, at that moment, she couldn't recall his name... another wave of emotions had overwhelmed her senses, once again transforming her into her simourv. Ros'n's words were lost on her. The human forms melted away into giant feathered creatures. Fe'ra giggled softly as Liliph warbled loudly in the heavens.

The green had finally deigned to look back at her chasers, and was pleased with what she saw. Seronaph and Shadoph had chased again, as she knew they would. She loved them both equally and equally they had possessed her. And the fact that Shadoph had outright attacked Seronaph tickled her fancy. Perhaps he would stand a chance this time! She admired his gumption. However, they were not the only ones there, and she gave each equal attention. Wegmeph was there as well, and she was pleased with this too. But Anoglyph! He had not chased her before! Her surprise came as a teasing and flirty coo back to her males. Yes, they were her males. Not silly Niataph's. They were hers to command and control... and that was wonderful.

Deciding to change things up a bit, she double-backed on herself, flying and diving straight through their ranks. However, unlike last time, this time she dodged all their attempts. Much like how she dived upon koxi, she kept changing directions in hopes of making them wonder which was she would go next. Only a couple of times she flew through their procession, for although she was a green she was not entirely foolish. She didn't want to be caught just yet! Finally picking a direction, she zipped off again, leading them back from the mountains to instead fly straight over the valley past the Eyrie. Now it would be a race! Her lungs expanded and contracted with labored breathing and slowly her muscles tired. Not that she would give up right now... she wanted her suitors to further prove their love to her.

As Liliph had weaved in and out of her sets of males, so Fe'ra danced about her circle of suitors. She giggled and snorted, sometimes just barely touching those in her eyling before she would skip away again, fully now the green she was so bonded to. Around them she moved again and again, until as Liliph leveled out she returned to the center of the semi-circle and gave her own warbled call. It was a pleasant, yet also issued as a challenge. Come and catch her if you can! It was like some distorted game of tag where she was the only one not "it".

[Fox]

Perhaps it was foolish of the red, but with his attention so completely focused on Liliph's lovely green form, Seronaph completely failed to see Shadoph's approach. It was, therefore, a rude shock when an angry, defiant scream tore through the air and the red whipped his head around only just in time to avoid major injury from his oncoming blue brother. But avoiding major injury did not mean that Seronaph avoided injury completely, as Shadoph's outstretched talons scored a long, shallow gash across his shoulder, flecks of blood splattering feathers and the ground far below. Rage tore a shriek from the red's throat, as in the eyling K'ean's lips pulled back in an involuntary snarl, and Seronaph lashed out in return, but too late. He missed Shadoph by inches, having lost speed and height as a result of the attack. Voice rising in a feral, furious challenge to the miserable creature who had so nearly taken him out of the chase and indeed set him back, Seronaph flapped laboriously to close the distance that had opened up between him and the rest of the suitors and Liliph. He was behind, and falling further; no match for the smaller simourv in terms of speed. It angered him. Shadoph would pay for that.

K'ean shut his eyes to the sight of Fe'ra's lithe form dancing among her suitors as Liliph did in the sky, seeking solace behind the darkness of his eyelids but finding none. Instead, he found Seronaph's furious gaze, heard his laboured breathing as he stretched himself to catch up. The bitter taste of failure was already in the back of the wingletmaster's throat as he registered the distance that Seronaph had to cover in order to retrieve his coveted forerunner position, as well as the burn of exertion in his muscles and the dull, throbbing ache from his injury. Seronaph had alost forgotten it in his single-minded pursuit, but K'ean recognised it and despaired on his simourv's behalf. It was long, and shallow, and likely would heal within weeks, but for the moment it impeded the flight muscles, and the red's wingbeats were uneven, flailing, desperate. They would not win this flight tonight. As Seronaph's thwarted rage echoed in the skies as he watched his Liliph speed further away, one wing shot through with pain, a tight-lipped K'ean silently pushed away from the wall, turned on his heel and, without allowing himself even a last glance at Fe'ra, left.

[Aikaph]

Shadoph was more than pleased when Seronaph dropped from the skies due to the shallow gash on his shoulder. That meant that there was one less threat to his emerald beauty. A loud warble burst from his gaping beak in a bout of arrogance. The revenge/lust combo was eating away at his judgment; it was making him a bit more brash and impulsive than he would normally be. Being near the front of the pack, he decided to look back on his competition. Wegmeph had let himself be known with loud, obnoxious crows and warbles. The pale blue hissed at him; he hadn’t caught Liliph, but his ‘singing’ was getting rather obnoxious. Then he watched Anoglyph… Well, he tried to, but the hulking red was nowhere to be found. Where was he? That wasn’t good. What if he was hiding in the couds, preparing to claim Liliph as his own? That would not do! He hissed in frustration and only pushed himself further towards the retreating form of the green.

In the eyling, Xo’li watched as K’ean left, a bit sad that he had to go. A bit. He was rather handsome in that moment, but it was fleeting. He watched as Fe’ra danced about the room, and reached a hand out when she brushed past him. But then she was gone, flitting about the room to stand in the middle and give out a cute little challenge. The man smiled at the girl and made to step forward. She was just ravishing, with the sun just breaking over the horizon and bathing her silhouette in a halo of light. Absolutely breathless, he finally lost his control over his part of his mind and let himself be swept away by his blue’s powerful wings.

As Liliph dove through their ranks, Shadoph gave a warbling cry of delight; oh how her feathers shined in the light! And he did wonder what she was going to pull next. Was she going to speed upwards? No, she dove to the right. But wait! She’s off again! Tail twitching in anticipation, he sped off after her. His breath was not coming as easily as it once was, and his muscles began to ache, but he was not about to let some other blue or red steal away his glory! Slowly but surely and in a bout of unrestrained bravado, he made his way closer to Liliph to the point where he was almost able to touch her tail with his nose. In his driven mind to redeem himself, he was rather vulnerable, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t fight to the death if any of his kin tried to take him out of the skies without Liliph.