The dueling grounds here were unremarkable; just another part of the mountains, with nothing to mark it for the historical value it held. This is where the harpies had faced the vampires in the battle for the Book; the harpies' victory had been a major humiliation point for bats ever since. The magic that made the battle non-fatal also made it perfect for real, dangerous dragon dueling: when injured here, you would feel the pain, seem hurt, but in truth be unharmed; when the contest ended, all injuries would disappear.
Zelgadis feels the magic settle over him as they enter the range of the spell. He looks over to Lina, nods, and digs his fingers into Whiskers' neck, touching the pressure points to direct him along the right edge of the field as Lina turns to the left. The roughly three-square-mile field is traversed quickly on dragon back; they pass each other at the edge opposite they entered, trading feints on the way by in simple ceremony. As they reach opposite sides of the field, a gong sounds; the beginning of the match. Zel turns Whiskers sharply to the left, toward the center of the field, the gray dragon smoothly banking and gaining speed for the first real pass.
Across the field, the red speck quickly grows, also attempting to reach top speed. Their meeting lasts less than a second; Zel presses in a familiar pattern: Whiskers half folds his wings for a split second, dropping down and right, bringing his head up to shoot a burst of flame at the red's vulnerable belly. Lina's dragon easily dodges, simply rolling away from the flame; its maneuvers are exceptionally quick, Zel notes, but it can't gain altitude or speed as quickly as larger dragons. They circle out, watching the other's moves. Lina makes a move, turning in directly toward him; she tries to gain a bit of altitude at the last second, attempting to score on him directly. Just for spook value, Zel doesn't dodge, but lets the fire strike him directly; not a mark. Well, some ash, maybe, but no actual damage.
Lina's eyes widen as she looks back at the silver-maned dragon on her tail, it rider unexpectedly unharmed. She curses herself for not remembering his tougher composition and tries to barrel roll out of his lock; no deal, he rolls right with her. The red is quickly losing ground, not having as much speed as the gray; the range-testing shots are singeing the hairs off her tail. Lina quickly applies pressure on several places; the red folds her wings entirely, dropping head-first toward the ground. The gray follows suit, gaining faster now, but no longer making test shots for fear of vision-loss and the too-close ground. Just before they would both strike the trees, the red flares out its wings to skim directly over them, Whiskers again following maneuvers; but the gray is caught off guard when Lina's dragon almost spins in place, gaining altitude enough to pass over him, sending down a burst he can't evade without crashing into the trees. Zel is still unharmed, but the dragon gets a long burn on the upper half of its right side; hardly crippling, but painful and distracting.
Oh, she's good. Zel thinks, quickly directing Whiskers to pull up, gaining on the red, passing it. It takes a bird of prey position, waiting until he has a good position, then diving straight for Lina and her dragon at an almost ridiculous speed, blazing a path through the sky. She can't dodge quickly enough, and receives a burn matching the one she put out, but on the underside rather than the upper; a few inches over and it would have been a fatal strike to the gut. But now, Lina has the advantage; she waits while he dithers in gliding over the trees, where she can't strike, and pulls up, intending the same tactic. As expected, he begins to climb; at about the halfway point, she dives. Just before she gets down to him, he dives as well, but at the opposite angle, well out of reach; they both level out at the same altitude and begin circling again.
This time, Zel makes the first move, turning quickly in, attempting to broadside her in the small area; she turns quickly enough to avoid that and take a shot at his left wing. Both miss, and they return to circling.
It's time to end this. Zel thinks, pressing the combination; Whiskers' eyes narrow in anticipation. He turns in, another straight shot toward the center; she moves to meet him, as expected. Just before they reach maneuvering range, Whiskers half folds his wings and rolls, flaring them back out and effectively flying upside down; he takes a shot at her underside, catching her off guard; the fire streaks across her throat and stomach, fatally torching her neck and chest, almost punching a hole in the gut. He quickly turns back over, before he loses too much altitude; the other dragon drops down to his height, using the last of her strength to keep level with him. The dragon's redheaded rider is doing something quickly, a look of determination on her face.
What is she trying to do? I've won this. Zel thinks, his thoughts whirring with possibilities, untying her straps? Why? Oh no… she wouldn't. Lina has all the straps undone, and now crouches on her quickly failing dragon's back, holding onto the loose harness. She would. Zel quickly tries to maneuver away, but it's too late; Lina catches him in a flying tackle, shoving him off the dragon and quickly toward the ground. They both plummet toward the earth.
"Wheeeeeee!" Lina yells, acting like she's flying. Zel quickly grabs hold of her and turns them both upright; acting quickly, his legs begin to fold, changing their form. After a few seconds, his legs are no longer human, but a pair of hydraulic cylinders; they hit the ground hard, the hiss of air from his legs attesting to the force, cushioning their fall from liquefying to extremely painful.
"Awww, Zel-kun! I didn't know you cared!" Lina says cutely, pinching him on the cheek; Zel seems very shocked about that, for some reason. A gong sounds as both dragons and Lina hit solid ground; the dragons' wounds very suddenly disappear like drying water.
"Well, that was certainly an interesting match," says Xellos, who has appeared overhead, "But a tie game, care for another?" They look at each other for a moment, considering, then nod. "Alright then." He disappears.
I wonder when she'll de-activate the anti-ID amulet? Zelgadis is going to freak. Perhaps I can help that out a little? If the game computer had a mouth at the moment, he would have been grinning.
Author's note2: Like the action? I think it may have been a bit repetitive, but considering this IS the first time I've written an aerial dogfight, it's alright. Next time!: Lina is who!?!?! or Chessmasters can't play checkers.