Gaylvi yawned, rolling over in her bed. There was the usual murmur of hushed dragon voices in the back of her head. She'd hoped that Impression would clear her of the problem of not being able to block them out, though Nemsiath's voice in her mind had made the others seem much quieter. A smile touched her lips as she stretched her arms over her head and tucked her small body into the blanket.

{{If you don't stop slobbering at me I'm going to dunk you in the Lake!}}

The irritated growl caught her off guard, and she quickly sat up. Past her curtain, which was pushed to one side, she could see Nemsiath's glowing golden body poised on the edge of their weyr. She could feel the stir of the dragons that came with a mating flight and her jaw dropped open. This wasn't happening! So soon? Gah!

{{That's it. I'm going to bite you!}} Nemsiath said, jumping off her weyr ledge menacingly. The usually well-mannered, somewhat immature, queen was making quite the spectacle of herself. However, the only thing she intended to bite was the neck of one of the beasts in the feeding pens.

[[You'll blood it only, you brat!]] Gaylvi growled, shuffling out onto the ledge with the blanket wrapped around her. Men were already filtering towards her weyr, but she didn't blush considering the only thing she had available to wear was that dratted blanket.

{{I know,}} the gold snorted, though she felt that tug to eat the entire bloody thing. Instead, she ducked down to the beast and made a rather macabre sucking sound as she glared at the males. {{I said back up!}} she snarled, though she was pouncing on another beast instead of one bronze who'd gotten a bit too close.

~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~

Five men were left. Nemsiath had been flying up in the sky somewhere for candlemarks, leading those boys on a merry chase. No one was quite sure how long she'd been up, but she'd jumped off her last beast just after dawn, and already it was afternoon.

{{Tired yet?}} she called back, a triumphant smugness in her voice. There were four bronzes left, and one silly, determined brown. Any of them would probably make good suitors, but she was having too much fun to let them catch her so easily.

{{Not ... even ... close!}} Temath called back, though his breaths were becoming labored. He'd gotten back to the Weyr only moments before Nemsiath had began her flight, so he'd blooded only one beast, and he was feeling the weariness.

{{We could go all day,}} Jareth called out, with Guith and Gerith echoing him with similar challenges.

{{Would you just get caught already?}} Mesignath asked, giving her a charming mental smile.

{{You guys are pathetic,}} she snickered, ducking down over the ocean. {{Can't you come up with anything better?}} Gaylvi's sardonic nature was slipping into the gold, and it was Gaylvi sneering at the dragons just like their riders were staring at her as hungrily as their dragons watched Nemsiath.

{{Umm... you look like a giant lemon?}} Mesignath offered.

{{You shine brighter than the sun itself!}} Guith called out in a melodic tone.

{{The most beautiful queen in the entire Weyr, and certainly the most loving,}} Jareth said, trying to outdo the brown. v{{The most beautiful and loving of all of Pern!}} Gerith spoke up.

{{Beautiful... loving... and... majestic!}} Temath called out in a last ditch effort.

Nemsiath seemed to consider these, then smirked. {{Heh, nice try boys. And Mesignath, I hope you hit a tree!}} she snorted at the first bronze who'd replied. Silence greeted her, and she turned around. Temath had dropped out with an unhappy cry, yet she only saw two bronzes and a brown behind her. Jareth, Gerith, Guith...

She let out a startled cry as she turned back to find a bronze dragon in front of her. She snarled, backwinging to avoid running into the tricky Mesignath who'd risen higher, catching a faster thermal while the others had been busy making up compliments. {{You... you.. you... cheater!}} she cried as she collided with him- softly, but the two collided all the same.

Mesignath slowed down their movement, wrapping his wings around hers, then entwining necks and tails. {{You're a pretty lemon,}} he said with a chuckle as the two began falling downwards together.

{{Cheater,}} she said again, though all anger had disappeared into amusement, and amusement had turned into the passion of a mating flight as the other dragons disappeared.

The other riders quickly followed suit, jogging down the steps and into the waiting small group of women who'd been waiting for the end of the flight all day. Gaylvi pulled E'lan into her weyr, dropped her blanket, and jumped into his arms as the two followed the lead of their dragons, still curled together in the sky.

~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~

It was already dark when Gaylvi rolled over and woke up next to E'lan. He smiled down at her, and she smiled back.

*SMACK*

E'lan held a hand to his face, looking surprise. Gaylvi seemed at ease as she nestled against the stunned bronzerider's side. "Never call me a lemon again," she said softly, quite amused, as she drifted back into sleep.

Mesignath's rider remained silent for a moment, then couldn't help but chuckle. He looked out past the curtain, seeing a glowing gold nestled against his bronze much as Gaylvi was now against him. A smile came to his face...

Looks like the two of them were good enough to catch a queen after all.