45 Ash, Year 123
[Closed - Solo]
"How sure of this are you?" Lia asked her with some concern as they approached the Eyrie belonging to Valerian's family. "It's a new wyvern, you do not have Mesmer. Why wouldn't he take the new one while you ride his? You've been doing this for just over a year, Hilana." She knew better than to talk her sister out of it; it wasn't going to get her anywhere. If she kept arguing, Hilana would dig her heels and teeth in, and then she would doubtless be goaded into something she might not have been otherwise. Her hope was to utilize logic and reason. She knew that her little sister was more than capable on anything on land, and she was an Elementalist, so it wasn't as though she didn't have a way to slow her fall if it came to that...
"It will be fine," Hilana reassured her. "I promise. We'll be meeting for tea and cakes, I'm not going to get myself killed, Lia." The raise of an eyebrow noted her soror's skepticism, and she only sighed. Demented. Absolutely, positively, completely demented. That Wildness was going to get her killed one day, and Athalia truly hoped that it wasn't going to be today that they'd be scraping her sister's guts off of the ground.
"Be. Careful." Lia issued her final warning as they saw the Vastian man coming to greet them. Well, she'd give her sister that, she was good at charming people.
"Salve, Hilana, and who is this with you?" Valerian greeted her as Hilana offered a little perfunctory bow. It was hardly needed, as she certainly considered the man a friend, but he was still one of the Patrician Caste, and part of the way their relationship worked was that that was respected.
"Salve, Your Lordship. Valerian, this is my cousin, Lia," Hilana made the introductions. Lia offered her own curtsy before straightening with a smile.
"Will you be joining us, Lia?" the tall, broad-shouldered young man wanted to know.
"Nae, Your Lordship, but I thank you for your offer. I have some meetings to attend to in the Forum, I'm afraid," she inclined her head. "Enjoy your flights, both of you. It is my honour to meet you." Valerian waved her off and Lia left the Sorokyne, continuing on her way down the streets.
"You're going to love this one. He's big and feisty," the Patrician told Hilana as they made their way inside. "Spicy, even. He's trained, he will listen, but since he is not harmonized with you... we'll see if the student has passed the teacher after all." He sounded enthusiastic at the mention of this. He'd flown with him once without Mesmer, and it had been a serious challenge, even with his ability to understand the beast's feelings and emotions and to understand what he could expect. There was a disadvantage to not having Mesmer, to not being able to adjust and adapt their Symphonies together, and it made the challenge all the more exciting.
"What's his name?" Hilana wanted to know as they made their way towards the Aerie. "I'm looking forward to riding him with the way that you've been taunting me about him," a curvy hip deliberately bumped Valerian's, and he laughed, having to catch his stride again and rubbed his hip.
"We'll see how well you ride that beast," he smirked at her, and motioned her forward. "His name is Rhiend, by the way." He knew Hilana was a capable rider; she was Equestrian and had grown up on quadrupeds. The two of them had gone flying regularly together and separately, but they'd certainly never raced. He'd gone to watch her in the Derby in Tertium in Glade, and he'd enjoyed it, but he had more experience on wyverns than she did. That was his advantage. And when he won this little bet...
Well.
"Rhiend and Nagas, Nagas and Rhiend," Hilana mused, her big brown eyes dancing. Her smile didn't falter when she saw the draconids up ahead, and she greeted Rhiend first. She would be riding him and they were quite intelligent. It wouldn't do for him to feel insulted because his rider had greeted the older female wyvern first. Rhiend eyed her, his slitted eyes taking in the brightly dressed young woman. He breathed in her scent as she stood there, still and calm after her little bow to the big beast. She was unflinching as his head lifted slightly to inspect the young woman and rough lips parted slightly, revealing massive teeth. When he breathed, she remained where she was, bringing one hand up without making the first contact, holding it between his nostrils. After a moment, Rhiend made the contact, lifting his head just a little more for her palm to press against his snout. She rubbed gently, stopping only when he looked away from her at Valerian.
"Ready?" Valerian grinned at her. He didn't smirk, not quite now, because Hilana did have a tendency to surprise him and she had a knack for this. She hadn't been remotely fazed by Rhiend or his initial staredown, He easily got into Nagas' saddle, and watched the Vastiana boost herself onto Rhiend. Long, nimble fingers roamed over and checked the tack - she knew her friend wouldn't sabotage her, but it was always habit to check the gear, especially at the speeds of which they were going to go... the girths, martingale, saddle were all snug and smooth against the brassy male's body. Rhiend didn't react much to her touch, but Hilana could feel the way he was between her long legs, and she knew one thing. Buckle up, buttercup. There was a coiling of the muscles along his sides and in his legs that definitely told her that this was going to be a wild ride.
"Ready," Hilana agreed, now that the Patrician was locked onto Nagas. "So what route?" she wanted to know before they took off. The safety chain was attached to the saddle to the belt that she locked around her waist, the runeforged equipment secure as anything.
"Once we're past the outer wall, we'll start," Valerian told her. "You know where the Galgia Oasis is, the one that you showed me?" She nodded, well familiar. They'd stopped there before on a previous flight on Nagas, and it was a little over 300 miles southwest of the city. At a leisurely flight speed, that might take all of a few hours. At a higher speed that they would go... this would certainly be much faster. "We'll go there and head back - the race will end at the cactus patch twenty miles beyond the huts." Valerian had to admit that he was using her waypoints for the goalposts of this race, and that was somewhat amusing to him. But when in the desert... It was important that they didn't blast back to the city full-speed. That would certainly cause some trouble and neither of them needed it.
"Deal," Hilana adjusted her seat and her skirts. "And then we'll just do a circle or two and let them calm down."
"Agreed. Bragging rights and a long oral session for the victor," Valerian smirked now at the talk of the terms.
"Your face will make a great seat once I get out of this saddle," Hilana purred. "Up, Rhiend!" She encouraged the wyvern, and no sooner had she uttered the last syllable of his name did he rear up, his wings spreading as he launched them skyward. She had been rocked back in the seat, having gone from sitting upright to nearly on her back, but she gripped the horns of the saddle and kept her feet secure in the stirrups. The wind brought her Valerian's laughter, but the girl was calm, and she gripped with her legs and hands. The short chains on the belt would have allowed her to come a few inches from the saddle, but with her feet and legs locked in... They were gaining considerable altitude, and when they finally levelled out, they were high above the city. "Gratias," she stroked the scaled skin of the wyvern before looking over her shoulder to see where Valerian was.
He wasn't far behind her, as Nagas' ascent into the sky had been far less jolting. He looked quite amused at the shenanigans, such as they were, but the girl was not even remotely bothered by the abrupt display, and she showed no signs of being rattled. With whatever it was that she wore that prevented him from reading her Symphony, she was impossible for him to read that way, and her body language showed no signs of being startled despite the rather unusual way of taking to the skies. He wasn't close enough yet to see the way her eyes danced and almost glowed, the way this little challenge spurred her on. Hilana settled herself in the saddle, keeping her weight centred, and focused on reading Rhiend beneath her. There were always those little signs, but it was taking the time to learn them, and she'd given Valerian a little boost in this bet of theirs since this was a mount she'd never rode before. All the same, no guts, no glory.
[Part II]
[Closed - Solo]
"How sure of this are you?" Lia asked her with some concern as they approached the Eyrie belonging to Valerian's family. "It's a new wyvern, you do not have Mesmer. Why wouldn't he take the new one while you ride his? You've been doing this for just over a year, Hilana." She knew better than to talk her sister out of it; it wasn't going to get her anywhere. If she kept arguing, Hilana would dig her heels and teeth in, and then she would doubtless be goaded into something she might not have been otherwise. Her hope was to utilize logic and reason. She knew that her little sister was more than capable on anything on land, and she was an Elementalist, so it wasn't as though she didn't have a way to slow her fall if it came to that...
"It will be fine," Hilana reassured her. "I promise. We'll be meeting for tea and cakes, I'm not going to get myself killed, Lia." The raise of an eyebrow noted her soror's skepticism, and she only sighed. Demented. Absolutely, positively, completely demented. That Wildness was going to get her killed one day, and Athalia truly hoped that it wasn't going to be today that they'd be scraping her sister's guts off of the ground.
"Be. Careful." Lia issued her final warning as they saw the Vastian man coming to greet them. Well, she'd give her sister that, she was good at charming people.
"Salve, Hilana, and who is this with you?" Valerian greeted her as Hilana offered a little perfunctory bow. It was hardly needed, as she certainly considered the man a friend, but he was still one of the Patrician Caste, and part of the way their relationship worked was that that was respected.
"Salve, Your Lordship. Valerian, this is my cousin, Lia," Hilana made the introductions. Lia offered her own curtsy before straightening with a smile.
"Will you be joining us, Lia?" the tall, broad-shouldered young man wanted to know.
"Nae, Your Lordship, but I thank you for your offer. I have some meetings to attend to in the Forum, I'm afraid," she inclined her head. "Enjoy your flights, both of you. It is my honour to meet you." Valerian waved her off and Lia left the Sorokyne, continuing on her way down the streets.
"You're going to love this one. He's big and feisty," the Patrician told Hilana as they made their way inside. "Spicy, even. He's trained, he will listen, but since he is not harmonized with you... we'll see if the student has passed the teacher after all." He sounded enthusiastic at the mention of this. He'd flown with him once without Mesmer, and it had been a serious challenge, even with his ability to understand the beast's feelings and emotions and to understand what he could expect. There was a disadvantage to not having Mesmer, to not being able to adjust and adapt their Symphonies together, and it made the challenge all the more exciting.
"What's his name?" Hilana wanted to know as they made their way towards the Aerie. "I'm looking forward to riding him with the way that you've been taunting me about him," a curvy hip deliberately bumped Valerian's, and he laughed, having to catch his stride again and rubbed his hip.
"We'll see how well you ride that beast," he smirked at her, and motioned her forward. "His name is Rhiend, by the way." He knew Hilana was a capable rider; she was Equestrian and had grown up on quadrupeds. The two of them had gone flying regularly together and separately, but they'd certainly never raced. He'd gone to watch her in the Derby in Tertium in Glade, and he'd enjoyed it, but he had more experience on wyverns than she did. That was his advantage. And when he won this little bet...
Well.
"Rhiend and Nagas, Nagas and Rhiend," Hilana mused, her big brown eyes dancing. Her smile didn't falter when she saw the draconids up ahead, and she greeted Rhiend first. She would be riding him and they were quite intelligent. It wouldn't do for him to feel insulted because his rider had greeted the older female wyvern first. Rhiend eyed her, his slitted eyes taking in the brightly dressed young woman. He breathed in her scent as she stood there, still and calm after her little bow to the big beast. She was unflinching as his head lifted slightly to inspect the young woman and rough lips parted slightly, revealing massive teeth. When he breathed, she remained where she was, bringing one hand up without making the first contact, holding it between his nostrils. After a moment, Rhiend made the contact, lifting his head just a little more for her palm to press against his snout. She rubbed gently, stopping only when he looked away from her at Valerian.
"Ready?" Valerian grinned at her. He didn't smirk, not quite now, because Hilana did have a tendency to surprise him and she had a knack for this. She hadn't been remotely fazed by Rhiend or his initial staredown, He easily got into Nagas' saddle, and watched the Vastiana boost herself onto Rhiend. Long, nimble fingers roamed over and checked the tack - she knew her friend wouldn't sabotage her, but it was always habit to check the gear, especially at the speeds of which they were going to go... the girths, martingale, saddle were all snug and smooth against the brassy male's body. Rhiend didn't react much to her touch, but Hilana could feel the way he was between her long legs, and she knew one thing. Buckle up, buttercup. There was a coiling of the muscles along his sides and in his legs that definitely told her that this was going to be a wild ride.
"Ready," Hilana agreed, now that the Patrician was locked onto Nagas. "So what route?" she wanted to know before they took off. The safety chain was attached to the saddle to the belt that she locked around her waist, the runeforged equipment secure as anything.
"Once we're past the outer wall, we'll start," Valerian told her. "You know where the Galgia Oasis is, the one that you showed me?" She nodded, well familiar. They'd stopped there before on a previous flight on Nagas, and it was a little over 300 miles southwest of the city. At a leisurely flight speed, that might take all of a few hours. At a higher speed that they would go... this would certainly be much faster. "We'll go there and head back - the race will end at the cactus patch twenty miles beyond the huts." Valerian had to admit that he was using her waypoints for the goalposts of this race, and that was somewhat amusing to him. But when in the desert... It was important that they didn't blast back to the city full-speed. That would certainly cause some trouble and neither of them needed it.
"Deal," Hilana adjusted her seat and her skirts. "And then we'll just do a circle or two and let them calm down."
"Agreed. Bragging rights and a long oral session for the victor," Valerian smirked now at the talk of the terms.
"Your face will make a great seat once I get out of this saddle," Hilana purred. "Up, Rhiend!" She encouraged the wyvern, and no sooner had she uttered the last syllable of his name did he rear up, his wings spreading as he launched them skyward. She had been rocked back in the seat, having gone from sitting upright to nearly on her back, but she gripped the horns of the saddle and kept her feet secure in the stirrups. The wind brought her Valerian's laughter, but the girl was calm, and she gripped with her legs and hands. The short chains on the belt would have allowed her to come a few inches from the saddle, but with her feet and legs locked in... They were gaining considerable altitude, and when they finally levelled out, they were high above the city. "Gratias," she stroked the scaled skin of the wyvern before looking over her shoulder to see where Valerian was.
He wasn't far behind her, as Nagas' ascent into the sky had been far less jolting. He looked quite amused at the shenanigans, such as they were, but the girl was not even remotely bothered by the abrupt display, and she showed no signs of being rattled. With whatever it was that she wore that prevented him from reading her Symphony, she was impossible for him to read that way, and her body language showed no signs of being startled despite the rather unusual way of taking to the skies. He wasn't close enough yet to see the way her eyes danced and almost glowed, the way this little challenge spurred her on. Hilana settled herself in the saddle, keeping her weight centred, and focused on reading Rhiend beneath her. There were always those little signs, but it was taking the time to learn them, and she'd given Valerian a little boost in this bet of theirs since this was a mount she'd never rode before. All the same, no guts, no glory.
[Part II]
