That was how the pair stumbled upon the SaaShiyovisa. They'd been tipped off to the resident small dragons' problem--they'd become too secluded, too few in number. Now, both Miridath and Duban are curious dragons by nature, and while they weren't exactly certain of how to deal with this particular problem, at least they could visit, assess the area, and perhaps pass on the word to other travellers.

     That was, until Miridath began to feel that particular tingle! She hadn't necessarily expected to come into heat for a few more months, but it couldn't really be helped. The dragoness had let Duban know, and the silly silver and brown dragon had simply laughed and said, "well, that solves two problems at once, doesn't it?"

     "What?"

     "Well, if they're looking to breed out their lines, and you're in heat--"

     "Duban!" Miridath had exclaimed, "this isn't a class room lesson in simple logics, you know!"

     "Of course it isn't," the part-Niteshan male had replied, grinning that easy grin of his and sweeping the much smaller female into a silver-winged embrace, "but you know, I know you're a wild flier. And if you want to rise then I'm not going to be upset."

     "But," Miridath half-whined, snugging into the comfort that her mate offered, "I don't know if I want that. To end up with someone else, I mean."

     And then Duban had pulled back, lowered his thick neck to look the fluffy dragoness in the eye. "Well, what do you want? I'll be close behind at any time, you know, all you have to do is give the call and I'll be there... in the meantime...?"

     Miridath sighed and fluffed her platinum blonde-furred wings. "I... I guess. It's just been so long since I've flown with someone else."

     Duban pushed forward, nuzzling his mate gently. "There's always room for something new," and he winked, causing her to stick out her long, pink tongue at him, "hey, and here I thought I was the open-flight virgin!" That earned him a smack, which he simply laughed off...

     But something had changed inside of her, solidified and settled. Something inside of her craved the competition, the need to be sought after. Something else inside of her remembered the dazzling experience of the flight itself, listening to wanting dragons jostling for the lead position, the thrill of the light brushes of almost being caught... so she'd agreed.

     And to make things fair, she'd also agreed to the SaaShiyovi's request that she reduce her size, of all things. She'd demanded that all of the non-native males do the same as well, of course. She didn't not want Duban to be chasing her, even if others were!

     So that was done, and in the next day, Miridath had remained within the village's bounds, soaking up sun and energy and feeling more and more radiant and, at the same time, more and more needing.      And then the time came, and she gave a call, almost animal in its lustfulness, and the dragoness strut from their guest-house right out of the village, into a nearby clearing. Demanding her suitors to follow, but not to begin quite yet. She had propped herself up on this out-jutting of rock, and she was looking over them, her ultramarine-bright eyes piercing each as she spread her near-white-and-black wings tauntingly. She wore a sultry grin as she studied them.

     There was Duban, of course, her love, her life, her partner in crime. He was grinning back at her, that same smile he'd had on before... it wasn't so much competitive as self-assured. Self-assured that he was going to win this, or at the very least, enjoy himself. Self-assurance in the fact that Mirdath would be having a good time, as well.

     There were two SaaShiyovi males, both of which were perched in the nearby trees, remaining inconspicuous but utterly failing to elude Miridath's senses; and she liked that. They were displaying discreetly (or not so discreetly, in Reif's case). The firey-orange-red male was perched just so that he could flare his dusky feathers, could give her an absolutely killer grin, his webbed fingers folded cockily one hand over the other so as to belie his absolute readiness for this. Miridath returned that smile, her teeth cutting in her wordless reply, 'Just try it, bugger.'
     Illusyd was less noticeable, his black and white body blending more easily into the dappled shadows of the tree line. He watched Miridath with a sense reserved excitement and the dragoness could see, from this point, his crystalline-clear wings flickering and throwing off little reflected sunbeams. She didn't know what to think of him, but she was looking forward to see him in the air.

     The other two chasers were offworlders, like herself, and it was them that she gave the closest inspection. One was an Atuan mutt from the very same planet that Miridath and Duban had made their home base, but he wasn't anyone that she'd met before. He was a lot like the SaaShiyovi, really, only a lot fluffier and perhaps a little less feathery. He was also looking in her direction with a decidedly deadpan expression. The dragoness shivered, but not with desire. He creeped her out.

     If Demaine, the mutt, creeped her out, then the daemon that eyed her leerily made her even more nervous. October Bonder was a rancid-looking fellow, all dark and shadows and danger. Unfortunately for him, Miridath had had more then enough of that type in the past, and before she even left the ground, she snarled at him, "Get out of here, I don't want your kind chasing me."

     October snarled back, his white teeth gleaming in the bright against his dark gums and muzzle. He was about to tell her that he'd do nothing of the sort (laced, of course, with his own particular brand of vocabulary) when Duban sidled up to him. The part Niteshan wasn't that much bigger then him at this point, but Duban had a way of exuding a big aura--and October knew when to back out of a lost cause. His snarl remained, a permanent sneer, as he turned his lashing, feathered tail and headed back to the village. He had other business he had to attend to, anyways.

     Miridath was still agitated, still mantling and fluffed right up and still very, very aware of her need to rise. So she did.

     She took to the air quite before anyone realized that she had remembered it, the encounter still on their minds and clearing their flight-hazed heads, but quickly enough, the remaining four males were after her.

     The dragoness managed to reach several hundred meters (still feeling surprised by how long it was taking to ascend, with how much less air her wings were scooping and displacing, with how light and unusual her body felt; and most of all with how very needful she was) before a dark shape was flitting up beside her. Miridath instinctively dived to one side, her body rolling, wings swerving, her tail whipping around and coming lightly into contact with another body.

     And then the chaser was right below her, and Miridath was forced to stabilize and then gain altitude again. She caught glimpses of black and white and crystal reflections and she knew, then, that it was Illusyd who was chasing her--herding her to greater heights. "Hey!" She exclaimed breathlessly, flapping and flapping and searching for the slightest updraft to help propel her upwards. The others weren't too far behind, but it was the lace-winged SaaShiyovi that was closest to her. "No fair, you get back with the rest of them!"

     ~Is a flight not about outflying the dragoness?~ Illusyd asked, reserving breath by using telepathy. Miridath noted that his voice wasn't... timid, so much as acquiescing, and she laughed, then, her voice carried away on the streaming winds. ~Correct me if I'm wrong,~ the SaaShiyovi added, a little grin tempering his dark face.

     They were higher now, and Miridath closed her eyes as they passed through a lower misting of cool water droplets--and that was when Illusyd made his move, slipping easily above her and locking his forearms over her, burying his snout in her warm hair as the dragoness gasped and faltered, as she began to level out.

     The other males began to slow as they realized that their objective had been caught (so soon!) and Reif, for one, gave a frustrated growl. He had meant to win this flight (the first to catch an offworld female was worth bragging rights, after all--but of course it had to be the exotic SaaShiyovi who won; Illusyd was 'special' and 'wonderful' and 'handsome' and all that other garbage. He turned tail and began to descend, frustration only beginning to drain as the cold wind swirled over him--calming hands of intangibility.

     Demaine began to turn back as well. He had gotten what he'd come here for: excitement an the chance to let loose his emotions, even if it hadn't lasted as long as he thought it would. As the Atuan began to spiral down for a light landing, and for the resizing that was due to him, he let out a little breath of relief. His inner calm was restored; life could go on without any mishaps for a while longer.

     Duban, however, remained in the air, circling lazily and giving the mating pair some distance, following Miridath's leisurely glide away from the village and listening unabashedly to his currently taken, noisy partner from afar. When Illusyd was finished, Duban discreetly began to ascend, and now he was slipping in under the dragoness, his wide wings bolstering her visibly shaky flight. "Down we go," he exclaimed, laughing when Miridath could only reply with a satisfied purr.

     "So?" The half-Niteshan asked, when the both of them had finally touched down. Miridath immediately curled up on the loamy ground, her wings flopped to either side.

     "So what?" She asked lazily.

     "So, I think we should do that more often," Duban replied, laughing when she flapped her tail at him, laughing even more when she replied with a mock growl. "I'm only disappointed that I didn't have a chance at you."

     "'Didn't have a chance'?" Miridath replied, slowly coming back to her senses, and to her usual self. "'Didn't have a chance'? What, you think I'm something you can just grab and go at whenever the mood pleases you?"

     Duban gave her a meaningful look.

     "Oh you just wait," Miridath replied, swatting him again with her wind-tangled tail-hair. "Maybe tonight."

     "I thought you'd say that," Duban purred in reply, and he settled in to wait until she was ready to get to her feet again, so that they could return to the village.