Jesi (Je'hezbahalanoza'rajasz)
Briski knew that he was special, from the moment he bonded to Jesi. From the moment he hatched, in fact. To have come from the Flurry sands was one aspect of it, but to have such a special friend... And such abilities which could be trained by the instructors and dragons at House Domina! In time, he learned much about how to control ice and snow, mostly from Jesi herself. He learned to fly from the dragons around him. He grasped a lot about metals and forges - though he didn't need a forge to work with true ores - from Dakota the artificer. There were occasional elves - forest elves, not the wretched little House elves that lived everywhere - that taught him things to do with his water magic.
It was the Light magic which he needed further help with. Thus, he headed to a place which his mother hailed from, Clan Akelara. It was winter break, Jesi and he could afford a little time away from House Domina. So they traveled quickly from their icy den in the country near the school, to the Crescent-shaped dragonry.
Though he was as bright and cheery as the day he was hatched, never let it be said that Briski was a simple minded dragon. He was able to soak up information easily, adapt to new things, challenge himself. He and Jesi would compete artistically, making ice items and creating mazes.
So here he found a pair of bonded females, both of which had a strong Light magic trait. And it was with them helping him, Briski learned that he had less talent for it than he thought. He could brighten an area, cause a magically-tuned stone to glow, and move light through different colors, but none at the same time, and he figured it was just as well - he was already quite talented in other ways.
But there were four tall spires with libraries in them - and it was in these where he learned all manner of other things! The history of his mother's kind, their habits and traits - which he shared only portions. Though he was a very strong ice mage, he knew better than to compare himself with pure Myrsilkans.
So on an afternoon that he'd spent a while inside, he stretched out - so long in body and tail - to get the kinks out of his spine. Down below, he spotted a lovely local dragoness sunning herself. Briski wanted to get out of the library, shake some life into his limbs, so he sent a thought to Jesi down below. I'm going to show off a little, if you don't mind.
Now why would I mind, you go right ahead! Jesi's thought came back to him from below. She fit in pretty well with the humanoids down there, they could talk about magic and whatever else, enough different that there would always be something new for them to discuss.
So for the moment, Briski had the wide open skies all to himself. There was nary a downdraft to be had, the warm air coming up from the ground was able to fill his sharp wings with lift. He soared over the sunning dragoness, who blinked and harrumphed. She slipped away, somewhere inside. Apparently his hybrid self wasn't of much interest to her.
However, word traveled extremely fast - not just around the Nexus but ... rather especially around females. He wasn't sure who she was, but she must have said something to another dragon, who poked her nose out, who went along and chatted to another - and within fifteen minutes, while Briski slid through the air enjoying the sun and the wind, there was a clump of varied females down below gazing up at him.
They were all large, some bigger than others - all reasonable enough matches for him.
He suddenly realized... he was the object of desire of more than half a dozen ready females! That would probably put Jesi in a tizzy, but just at this moment when he did an energetic loop in the cloudless sky, he didn't really care what his bond might think while he was enjoying himself!
He looked back down toward the group of females, who had split themselves up a little more. Now that they realized it was serious, this mating business, they weren't about to let each other in on their flight secrets! There were two in particular who could be heard even in the skies, hissing and yeowling at one another in anger or at the very least in competitive spirits. They were both feline-dragons, it seemed. The smaller of the pair poofed away in an explosive takeoff, probably to get away from the other's snarling.
She fluttered up into the sky, and it was there that Briski got his first good look, sort of, at her wings. They were hardly there, golden shapes which flapped too quickly to really see, and clearly they were more ornamental than functional. She was among the smallest of the group, and quite a lot tinier than Briski. But she was warm, her blue-black fur tickled a little when she sidled up to Briski's shoulder.
"You're very pretty," she purred.
And was abruptly interrupted by the second of the feline-appearaing dragonesses, who was darker and more mottled in color, and was quite a lot larger. Again the little one sped off in a puff of fur and glittery golden wing-beats. "Interesting," Briski said, tand turned a bit away. The other dragon followed his moves, and in the corner of his eye he noticed that the others had taken wing too!
This was turning out far more interesting than he thought it might! After all, he'd only come here to educate himself. But now... He had a pack of desirable females all vying for his attention! Down on the ground, he sensed Jesi's surprise, but didn't bother with a reply to her query about what he was doing. She'd find out soon enough.
The sturdiest of the group, a bold, burnished golden shaded Pernese, gave a loud bellow and swept overhead. You're mine, I think. She telepathically called to Briski. I don't know what you might think about those other little... twits, but I'm perfect, you need to follow me. It's more proper for a male to chase a female, after all.
"Need?" Briski said, aloud, his voice carried faintly on the wind. "I am merely flying, my lady," he kind of lied, as she spun upwards in a classic Pernese mating-dance move, "And while you're beautiful, you're not really ... my type."
With that, the gold harrumphed and snapped her tail toward him, nabbing him on the shoulder. It was a move meant to show power, something that Pernese males might find extremely attractive... But to Briski it meant she was a bit full of herself. Her great wings spread open and as she passed, she displaced so much air with them that Briski almost couldn't remain afloat! She had much bigger wings and was more sturdy than the others there - and he did have to admit that she was a lovely color. If she got over that attitude of hers, she would probably make a great mate for someone more appropraite.
Distantly, Briski could hear the cackling of the other females as the gold went back to wherever she'd come from. Briski wasn't too sure that he'd encourage that kind of thing - after all the sting of her tail snap was tiny compared to what her claws might do, and heavens forbid a bite! But she was of a species which didn't take kindly to multiple females flying together, and knew when to scoot out of the way.
He'd learned that fact from someone at House Domina, when their own dragons started acting a bit randy. He was too young then to really have gotten involved, but now...
What was interesting to note was that a second Pernese-type was also following him. A green with golden-tipped wings, a little less bold and a lot smaller, and clearly not fully Pernese. She held her own, as they flew across the skies, and he'd keep an eye on her. She was skilled in flight, but also he learned from watching as he snaked around himself and dove down, she was able to better predict where he'd be flying. Interesting.
Another green, with mottled speckles of bright silver on her hide, rose to greet him and swept her own tail around his nose. But she wasn't intent on smacking him silly, for that he was a bit grateful. She was overtaken by two others - a feathery-tipped green, and ...
She just kept going past - this red-and-cream marked dragoness. She was clearly not really flying with those two pairs of wings, there had to be something more than that keeping all of her aloft! "Helloooo," Briski said, and suddenly went into high gear. He wasn't trying to get away - like the Pernese females. He was pretty far from that actually. Briski wasn't really certain where to ... hold on, actually - but he found out soon enough. Ohrazah's delighted (and delightful) laughter filled the skies and for a moment, it looked like an explosion of rainbows had erupted around them. Perhaps it was a good sign - they both had light power! Ohrazah's sleek form was immensely fun to wrap around, they wove through the air like thread on the wind.
Finally, they separated, but the other girls had clearly not gotten the impression that it was the end of Briski's flight. Oh, not by a long shot.
The darker, larger feline dragoness approached, her heavy wing beats keeping up but barely, she wasn't as long as Briski. They might have weighed the same, but their proportions were all different. Ziry giggled, "did you enjoy yourself?"
"Why yes, I did!" Briski blurted out, before he realized it was going to lead to something less polite if he wasn't careful. She was making conversation! She didn't want to know how the sex was with some other female! "Have you seen the libraries here?"
"Oh yes, they're quite wonderful," she said, and they chatted while the other dragonesses took time to bathe below, or find something to chew on while they waited this out. But what was happening in the skies? It certainly wasn't mating! No, it was that Briski and Ziry had much in common and much to talk about!
Eventually, Briski said, "I do not think I could give you enough of myself, to be a proper sire to your offspring, Ziry, but I'm sure that you will find someone at the right time." They split up and Briski glanced down at the waiting batch of other females.
It was almost a moment later, just after Ziry had cleared the sky, when the little violet-blue and black feline popped back into the scene! What a change in pace that was, and Briski had to admit: it was her wings which intrigued him greatly, and ... he wondered what their little hatchlings would be like! What with his golden accents and hers...
The other females were growing more aware that their handsome suitor was willing to catch more than one of them. Obviously - but ... he would have to choose properly between two of the Pernese-type greens if he'd have either of them. It was clear that the silver-spotted Yinaleth was more chatty and friendly than the gold-tipped green Hariath, their disparate cultures were obvious when Hariath sped ahead and dove around below Briski.
"You turned down a gold," she said, a bit out of breath. She'd had to race up into the sky which was now filtered with the first strains of sunset. "That says a lot about you," she continued. However, it looked like Briski's attention wasn't on her, though he freely admitted (without saying so) that she was probably the brighter of the two. Yinaleth caught up, the smallest of the whole group, and tried to butt in. However, the greater size difference was obviously going to doom any attempts at mating she wanted.
It was, however, sort of clear to her that Briski wasn't going after her golden-tinted competition either. Now, she had to get back to her bonds - and try to explain that no, Briski didn't mean to hurt her feelings, not everyone can win a flight after all. And it was true that he'd turned down a gold.
There were still two greens left: one, the more bipedal shaped - and glowing - Raindraught, and the other the one with the lovely feather accents.
By this time, Briski was starting to feel the weight of the world again. He was an ice mage, not an air commander. If he had been perhaps he'd have stayed up in the skies to please all his lovely suit..er...esses... But as it was, his wing-arms were growing strained, and he hoped for any chance to glide or float on another updraft. The sun was setting, however, and the air growing cooler. Since there was not a hint of moisture in the air, he couldn't really shape the snow or ice to 'support' him, which was something he might have tried, having read about it just a few hours before in the libraries.
At last though, it was Raindraught that Briski chose to end the afternoon's flight with. Her company was enjoyable, peaceful, and he commented often that her markings and his would certainly draw attention!
When he did finally come back down to the Crescent's inner courtyard, he spotted one or another of the girls who'd come to fly for him. While it was difficult to formulate just the right words, he thanked each and every one of them (more or less, the golden queenlet had flown off long before now) for their consideration, and hoped they would find their right mates sooner or later.
"Preferably sooner," Sair'Banina chuckled, the others nervously laughing with her. They eventually split up - but now, what?
The three he'd found would want to remain on? So would he - they could transport back and forth to House Domina if need be, Jesi could probably just remain with him here for a few weeks while they worked out the details. But he was bound and determined to see the end of this. After all it would be an incredible learning experience, having offspring of his own!
NEXT!
Name: Briski (Ryslen flurry)
Color: Ice Blue (with silver, white, and blue markings)
Primary Element: Ice (9)
Secondary Elements: Metal (5), Light (3), Water (1)
Gender: Male
Bonded to: Jesi
Sire: Jadale (has no further known pedigree)
Dam: Mairo'siyl (has no further pedigree)
Mates (Clan Akelara flight January 2008)