Dreamer woke to a warm embrace, and happily entertained the idea it could be a female's for the third of a second it took to recognise Wanderer's scent.

Not that he particularly wanted to sleep with any females like this. Wrrr, it wasn't so much something he didn't want as something that was unlikely to happen, he'd be unable to fall asleep in the first place. And having one cuddle up to him after he fell asleep would just be creepy.

He yawned widely and absently kneaded Wanderer's chest, his paws working reflexively; not that Wanderer was complaining, even as it woke him. He wondered if this sort of comfort with someone was something that came naturally, or if it needed work and time. He and Wanderer had earned each other's trust back in the cove, and then necessity had them huddling together in Berk's icy weather. Being hatchlings that didn't so much go to sleep as fall unconscious might have been part of it.

He tried to rise, but Wanderer held him tightly and refused to relent. Dreamer grumbled under his breath, not awake enough to be fighting or prying his way free – and then he had even less motivation to do so when sharp claws firmly scratched his back. He whimpered pathetically as he was alleviated of long-forgotten itches, stretching and twisting to guide the blissful scratches to the next irritated patch of scales.

The light was not as far gone as he'd thought, barely even noon. He yawned again, feeling his tongue curl and his ears pull back, then managed to roll upright and blinked groggily at the surrounding forest. Wrrr, back to the usual routine, he supposed. After finding out what had happened to the Long-Paws, though he didn't expect any issues with that; he was confident Rising would have handled it.

He hopped up into the nearest tree, then climbed the ever-thinning branches through the canopy to take to the sky. He felt… not lethargic, but content, feeling a desire to do something but not push himself. He soared easily on the cool wind, efficient beats of his wings gradually giving him height.

"We should consider when we will leave," he said as Wanderer pulled up next to him. "Not yet, but cooling-season has come."

"We have some time," Wanderer rumbled. "Maybe two sky-ice-cycles. But yes, should remember that."

Not quite as bad as Dreamer had thought then. Still, they had been here the better part of a month already, so the remaining time was liable to fly by.

The Lightstriker nest loomed in the distance, and Rising's advice came to mind. Whispering, an unmated female who hadn't automatically fallen head over tail for him and Wanderer, was often found on the highest northern ledge, which had to be somewhere under Rising and Breaker's cave. He eyed that area as he approached, trying to figure out which she had meant… There were more of them there, being in the warm light longer as the sky-fire drifted along, always off to the south a bit.

There were a pawful that Rising could have been referring to, but they were all either empty or occupied by families. He shook his head with a huff and turned his attention to the usual group flying up to him.

He inhaled, preparing to call out to Racing and physically corner her if he had to and finally go do something with her to get to know her better. But she was then suddenly gliding next to him as they drifted down into the nest, taking the wind out of his sails. "Racing," he greeted her awkwardly, thrown off a bit by having mustered all this confidence he no longer needed. "Do you want…" He racked his mind for ideas, something they could do, and came up almost completely blank.

"We could run in forest?" she suggested lightly, and he crooned agreement; he'd been about to suggest going flying, which was about the most unoriginal thought he could possibly have had.

He swerved through the group to pull in as close to Wanderer as he could get. "I am going running with Racing," he explained. Wanderer chuffed, and Dreamer peeled off and angled back for the forest.

Racing caught up with a few hard flaps, then drifted up beside him and touched her wingtip to his, an electrifying sensation along the sensitive edge of his wing. He could feel the minor disruption, the air swirling between their wings, the slight adjustments she made to her own wing as they flew. It was all so much that he nearly forgot he needed to do something to stay in the air, but a few hasty corrections kept him flying straight and level, maintaining the pace and contact.

He then realised he'd been staring at her, and tried to focus instead on where they were going… but his gaze kept drifting back to her, to those bright blue eyes that always knew when he was looking. His heart skipped erratically, an excitement and anticipation making his head spin – it was actually frustrating how awkward he felt. He'd almost rather take on Dagur again; for all that had been fighting for his life, at least it was straightforward.

She pulled away and angled down, and he noticed they were coming up on the edge of the forest. She landed daintily, holding her wings high and prancing to a halt, while Dreamer landed heavily, sinking into the ground a little.

"I am fast in this forest," she crooned challengingly as she folded away her smooth, pristine wings. "You not will catch me."

Dreamer paused, thankful that he had thought through hundreds of variations of this conversation over the last week. "I not sure I want catch you yet," he said carefully. "Too many females in your nest. Being with anyone is difficult. Not think about that now, I just want play." He finished with a hopeful, prompting purr, tilting his head.

"We can just run," she agreed, though there was the barest edge of disappointment, frustration in her voice. "I will still show you I am fast!" She then leapt into the trees ahead of him, and he chuffed agreeably as he leapt in after her.

There had been times when Wanderer had been playing with all the females and Dreamer had not been. That, he was quickly learning, was not the same as when Dreamer was not present at all.

The Lightstrikers became relentless in their pursuit of him, both literally and figuratively as he raced around the beach and narrowly avoided their clutches. This was a game Dreamer had played with them some time ago, and Wanderer had to admit he was downright impressed with how they were hunting him – at least, right up until they all started getting in each other's way as they got close – and even more so with Dreamer for having run them all to exhaustion.

He reminded himself he'd have to bite Dreamer later, for agreeing to such a game. Wanderer had suggested a more sensible reward for if they caught him, but immediately discovered that they would have had next to no motivation to try for less.

So now he was running as fast as his paws would carry him, claws sinking into the sand and offering little grip as he dodged the females attempting to surround him. It was almost like running through a forest, if the ground was loose and the trees kept moving and trying to grab him.

They had almost hemmed him in against the cliff to his right, not for the first time, and he was waiting for the inevitable moment that would let him escape. Four females to his left were perfectly positioned to cut him off, more directly behind him forcing him on regardless, while the rest waited for opportunity at more of a distance. Shining was one of those watching and waiting, though that seemed more because she was panting heavily and struggling to keep up; that probably came with being so thin.

The females to his side drifted closer, forcing him towards the cliff, up against the sheer and unyielding rock wall. He could hear their panting over his own, and their eager, determined growling as they eyed him.

But then, the expected moment as the female at the front drifted back a little to put herself between him and the other females. They kept doing this, and just as every time before, he leapt forwards with a burst of speed, through the opening she had made and easily avoiding just the one female while she blocked off her friends. Dodging the scattered females beyond them was simple with more room to work with, and then he was ahead of them all again, nothing before him but white sand, blue sky, and the dark rock of the cliff. Mocking, he barked with a glimpse back, seeing the females at the back take to the sky to fly ahead of him again. He'd lost count of how many times he'd done this, but they were wearing down more quickly than-

He braced himself, unable to avoid the teeth that suddenly lunged at him out of nowhere, in the instant before he collided with what seemed to be the air itself. It grabbed him and pulled him aside, his back half then carrying forwards and tossing him over to tumble to a halt in the sand that felt much less soft to his torso than it did his paws.

Something pressed down on him, but the pin wasn't nearly strong or experienced enough to hold him for more than a heartbeat as he reflexively twisted free…

But he rolled onto his paws and kept going to lie on his side with a defeated groan. The game was to catch him, not fight or pin him. Even if this Lightstriker had flown a little too far with what they were playing.

"That not is fair!" one female yowled angrily as she trotted up to the smug pair of blue eyes floating in the air, then swatted at the Lightstriker as she began to fade into sight.

Searching hopped back while the white of her scales washed down her body from her nose. "I caught him," she purred gleefully, "nobody say I not could camouflage or ghost."

"We not know you could camouflage without fire," another female growled.

"I not," Searching said proudly. "I fly back to nest, camouflage there. I know he would see me if I use fire here."

Despite his involvement, Wanderer felt strangely removed from the argument. But he had to admit it wasn't as simple as just hiding and jumping at him. She'd had to leave without anyone noticing – though that had probably been easy with everyone's attention on him – fly far enough that her fire would not be heard, then fly back, trusting that nobody else would have caught him in the meantime. He had his doubts anyone would have been able to at all, but if they didn't think they had a chance then they wouldn't be bothering.

"It is fair," Wanderer begrudgingly cut into their argument, rising to his paws. "Her hunt had challenge, also risk."

"So I can groom you?" She asked excitedly, spinning to face him.

Perhaps he should have sided with the other females; it didn't feel fair to him, even if that was what he had agreed to. "Later?" he warbled hopefully. "When we rested."

"I can wait," she hummed happily, then slipped under his wing and pressed herself against his side, humming anticipation as she nuzzled him.

For some reason, the other females narrowed their eyes at her, and Wanderer suddenly felt quite uneasy.

The trees were still rustling merrily as Dreamer trotted to a halt, panting and pleasantly weary from their long run. The sky-fire shone through the leaves at a low angle, though it was difficult to say exactly what time of day it was, and shadows danced over the ground.

As promised, Racing was very fast among these trees, possibly even faster than him, at least while he familiarised himself with these southern forests. There were so many little leafy plants littering the ground, including huge patches of that nasty stinging stuff; he disdainfully eyed a nearby clump of it, one as large and tall as himself. Some of it could be ignored and jumped through, but some of it was so dense it was like jumping into a pile of hay, which was fun but not a viable path. But the worst of it was the vines, immensely strong for how thin they were, that unexpectedly snagged his paws or wound through a path of leafery that he would otherwise be able to push through.

Racing was much more familiar with it all, and thus not constantly tripping over and trying to determine the paths from the snares. He had kept up, except for a few times when he'd accidentally discovered a fun bush to dive into, but he was glad he hadn't made a competition out of it.

"That was good run," she said breathlessly, her head drooping and her tongue hanging out as she panted. "Maybe you will catch me… if you practise much."

"Do you want race on beach again?" Dreamer crooned playfully. "Or maybe in grass?" Though for some reason, running through a meadow seemed more like a third or fourth date kind of activity.

"I could show you some fun grass," she purred, eyeing him. "Need fly far, but we get there before night."

"Another light, maybe," he hedged; maybe that was why the meadow seemed like a future thing, for its association with grass.

She rolled onto her side to wave her paws lazily in the air, her wing brushing his side as she spread them against the ground. "I not know if Rising would be angry if we hunted… I not eaten land-prey in much time…"

Dreamer stared at her, gaze drawn to her exposed hindquarters, unable to look away; she couldn't see that he was looking with how she was lying. "We could smell land-prey," he said, "but not find any."

"I know where they are," she crooned, "but we not can hunt there. We only can hunt prey that leave there. But you could hunt there… They are near-"

"You not should say," he cut her off, only barely averting his gaze before she lifted her head to look at him. "You only hunting extra prey. Not take from that area. Then you always have prey."

"But she not tell you not hunt there," Racing complained, rolling onto her front and tucking her wings to her sides. "Also there much prey there, you could take some."

Dreamer huffed. "That not… Not if you tell me where. Also if we eat prey, other females might want that also. But we could fish?"

She growled and grumbled and rolled to her front to stretch out. "Maybe…" She stared ahead at nothing for several seconds, though her ears moved in a way that gave the impression she was thinking. Then her wings twitched and twisted with discomfort. "You can scratch my back?" she crooned, hopeful, pleading.

That, he could do, and he chuffed as he padded over. She tucked her wings in so that he could get close, then arched her back and moaned while he obliged. He tried to distract himself from the provocative sounds by interesting himself in her hide, so different from his own; it was soft, with some small give in it, but the very surface felt almost like rock under his claws. She kept trying to encourage him to her other side, but he couldn't really reach it unless he wanted to stand over her-

He had tried mead a few times, and whatever he thought of it he remembered a sensation like a cool wind on hot skin burning down his throat. The thought of standing over Racing was much like that, but right down to his tail. Particularly around his tail. "We should fish," he said without nearly as much confidence as he would have liked, stepping back.

"We can fish," she agreed, sitting up to scratch at her shoulder with her hindleg, then rolled onto her back and writhed against the leaf and stick covered ground.

This time, Dreamer managed to pry his gaze away, instead looking around for a suitable tree to climb and then leaping up into a low branch. Right as he lifted his wings to take flight from there, Racing nimbly hopped up past him and leapt into the air, deftly catching the wind under her wings. He growled playfully and leapt up after her, then gradually caught up on her head start.

They were only maybe halfway to the sea when her tail came into reach, where he could have grabbed or swatted at it, but just as he entertained the idea she made a sharp turn and pulled away. He banked after her, then matched her aerobatics in trying to shake him off.

She was certainly an incredible flier, perhaps even better than Searching, making full use of her smaller, lighter frame to take sharp turns he couldn't hope to match perfectly. But he had skill, and realised he was using his back-spines without even thinking about it, and every small lead she made was soon overcome by his raw strength.

They were out over the sea almost too quickly, but he was looking forward to a nice meal. And watching her fish. And dunking himself in the cool, refreshing, calming water.

Racing dove abruptly, firing ahead of herself as she neared the waves. It kicked up a massive column of white spray that she hurtled into and vanished in, not slowing down at all, and was beneath the water by the time the air cleared.

He hadn't seen her wings flare to slow her down or anything. Curious… Did firing into the water lessen its impact somehow? He resolved to test this himself. But for now he did his usual, dropping down to just above the surface and slipping in with barely a splash.

A school of fish swarmed towards him, and he guided it back around without thinking. Together they worked the prey, weaving through the water with finesse and grace to catch their fill. Soon after, Dreamer broke the surface and gulped down the two fish in his mouth, then the one in his paws, while Racing did the same.

The sky-fire was just touching the horizon when they took back to the air, dripping wet but pleasantly full. Seeing Wanderer and the other females on the beach, Dreamer angled towards them; he could spend time with the others while still being close to Racing, and the thought of being around Wanderer and others was appealing.

Racing initially tried to nudge their course away, but reluctantly followed after only a moment. The flight to the beach passed swiftly, and then they were touching down on the sand at the edge of the group-

Dreamer recognised the look Wanderer gave him, if not why, and immediately spun and bolted – not nearly fast enough. He was nearly instantly tackled, and then yelped as sharp teeth bit firmly into his shoulder. He tried to kick his way free, but Wanderer had him pinned and only relented after giving him a painful shake. "What that for?" Dreamer growled as he quickly rolled away…

He'd been distracted at the time, but there was a prominent scent that had transferred to him; Racing had noticed it too, if her twitching snout was any indication. What was Wanderer doing covered in Searching's scent? And, at a guess, why did he think it was Dreamer's fault?

But instead of voicing his question, he squeaked surprise, flinching back, as Racing licked his shoulder where he'd been bitten. He gave her a short, mildly annoyed growl, then growled again as Wanderer swatted at him. "What I do?" he asked again.

"I tell you later," Wanderer growled back, whacking him around the ears a few more times, then spun and slapped him with his tail as he trotted away again. Whatever it was, he was very annoyed about it.

Dreamer shook himself off, begrudgingly accepting that he wouldn't find out until later – then startled as Racing licked him again. "Not now," he grumbled, and ignored her jealous huff to go join the others.

He barely got five steps before he was met by half a dozen females, all crooning sympathy and delicately scenting him. "Why he do that?" three of them asked at once, and then he backed into someone trying to pull away from them as they all tried to lick him-

"Enough!" he snapped, shoving his wings out and holding them firmly, dropping into a combat stance without thinking. Racing was growling, as close as she could get with his wing in the way and swatting at two of the overeager females. He gave Wanderer a bewildered look, but he appeared to be just as surprised.

Racing huffed at the other females as they reluctantly backed off, then waited for Dreamer to shake himself off – again – before slipping under his wing and nuzzling him. "You still covered with salt," she purred sultrily, delicately nosing at his neck, her hot breath playing across his scales…

She made it so tempting – and at any other time, he probably would have given in. But at this moment he was too distracted, there was something weird going on and he just wanted to chock the wheels until he figured it out or it went back to normal. "Wait," he murmured, slipping away from her and trotting over to Wanderer. "What happen while I gone?" he asked quietly, scenting the other Nightstriker. Searching's scent was heavy on him, but he would expect it to be… muskier, or something, if they'd actually mated.

"They wanted chase me like they chased you," Wanderer groaned.

Like they chased him… "Searching caught you?" he asked incredulously, earning himself another swatting; there seemed to be a story behind that. It was no wonder Racing was…

Dreamer groaned and pawed at his head. Now it made sense. Not that he knew what to do about it – Racing undoubtedly wanted to do the same, and refusing would be to reject her. But on the other paw, however he felt about it, allowing it would further push the other females to try harder. He probably deserved being bitten. "I will think something…"

He looked sidelong at Wanderer and grinned at him. "Maybe you want go flying with Searching? She must like you."

"Yes," Wanderer agreed, grinning toothily back at him, then turned with a flourish of his tail and trotted into the crowd of females. He took flight with a single Lightstriker only a few moments later.

Dreamer blinked. And then his stomach dropped as the remaining females all turned to him. Me and my big mouth… Racing came up beside him, subtly glaring at the others, making her own opinion clear; she looked as if she'd much rather be alone with him.

"I will make fire again," he decided wearily. "You can help me find more dead branches?"

Several barks of agreement preceded a horde of flapping wings, each female eager for a nice warm cozy fire; at least, that was what he chose to believe. He waited for the worst of it to pass before leaping into the air himself, and Racing followed as he winged over to the forest. Ideally, he'd like to set up a spit roast or something, but he couldn't think of a practical way to make it worth the effort and fish were just as tasty raw.

The task progressed uneventfully; pointing out a suitable branch for Racing to take, grabbing one to carry back himself, and then assembling the fire. One female took a little longer to return, but another went to find her and they each then carried back a thick length of wood with a charred, smoking end.

The sky-fire set while Dreamer worked, building the fire much larger than last time, a big bonfire that soon had Lightstrikers playfully leaping through the flames. He even partook himself, savouring the sensation of the hot air billowing under his wings. Then two females collided with each other, landing in the fire itself, which gave everyone a good laugh.

Racing was practically glued to him the whole time, in complete contrast to the last week or so when she had been distant and evasive. She began cleaning herself when everyone began to settle down, as the others started flying out to sea to fish in small groups. Her side pressed to his as she reached around herself, her general scent gradually becoming more prominent as she covered herself in it. All the while, Ghoster's words lurked in the back of Dreamer's mind, calling her manipulative, but he was enjoying her company…

"You can clean this for me?" she asked politely, gesturing to her shoulders.

He chuffed and obliged without thinking, licking up her shoulders and the back of her neck, beside the soft fin that ran down her spine. By the time he realised what he was doing, it was too late, and there was nothing to do but finish what he'd started.

The taste of a female, however, slowly overcame the mental fortitude he'd been accruing over the last couple of weeks. He tried to be thorough but efficient, however tempted he was to linger, though he had to control his breaths that nevertheless became slower and hotter. His head started spinning – he wasn't sure if he was breathing too much or too little – and he was losing track of what he'd done…

He arbitrarily decided he was finished and lay down, settling his tumultuous head on his paws and closing his eyes. Willing himself to relax seemed to help, and his breaths calmed into a quiet, continuous purr that was as much for the relief as it was for having groomed a female…

A light, tentative nuzzle between his wings was soon followed by a broad tongue, and he lifted his head to look back at her.

"You groomed me," she purred. "I should groom you now… You still covered with salt."

He tried to work his drowsy, addled mind, but couldn't summon reason or motivation to argue. He'd had a long light of running and playing after a long night of scaring Long-Paws, and Wanderer had allowed it with Searching, and he felt uncomfortable protesting after he'd done exactly that for her. All he could do was lie back down and let her get on with it.

She started with his shoulders, her smooth tongue gliding over his scales and brushing against his back-fins. From there she worked straight up, over his neck, moving with intimate and deliberate slowness that made him intensely aware of the contact.

Despite the leisurely speed, that particular blissful torture was brief, efficient. But then it led to a tense anticipation as she returned to his shoulders and started working her way down his back, towards his flanks. He certainly wasn't comfortable, however pleasant the treatment was – there was no way he could even pretend with how her warm, feminine scent surrounded and clung to him.

Why had he agreed to this? His hindleg twitched reflexively as she licked it, and a shiver ran up his spine to cling to his shoulders. Thankfully the shape of his body completely prevented her taking it too far as long as he remained lying upright. He didn't care how insistently she encouraged him while licking over his rump, that was not changing.

He sighed when she finally finished, his head swimming and his breaths weary. He was purring, if quietly – he had enjoyed it, all in all, it was just… a lot.

Racing slid under the back of his wing and reappeared beside him, her warm body pressing against his side as she lay down, staring at him with wide, innocent eyes. He purred at her and gave her a brief nuzzle before laying his head back on his paws. Maybe he could do with a nap, he was quite weary…

What seemed to be the last of the females returned from fishing, sand sticking to their paws as they landed and walked up to the fire. The murmur of conversation around him was interspersed with licks and cleaning, all very calm and peaceful.

He had noticed the females weren't nearly as pushy when he was actually with one of them. Right now they were basically leaving him alone, in complete contrast to when he'd landed and been swarmed. He wondered what might happen if he moved away from Racing.

That wasn't to say they weren't still trying for his attention in other ways. He let his gaze lazily drift around the fire, to the females scattered around it. They were all on this side of the flames, where he could see them, and the majority were posed in just the right way while they cleaned to show off their wings, tails, or… other things. He eyed a female out of the corner of his eye, lying on her back with her hindquarters curled up over herself so that she could groom and tend to her hindpaw. There was no way she was giving him that view unwittingly, that was the most awkward way to clean a paw he'd ever seen; not that she looked uncomfortable, just odd.

Curious about something, he used the slowly dying fire as an excuse to stand and move away from Racing, adding the last of the wood. Rather than return to Racing, he shook the worst of the sand off and then rolled onto his side to finish what she'd started, cleaning down his front.

As he'd suspected, the females were as shameless in watching him as they were in showing off, several of them eyeing him with interest. Not all of them though, less than half all told; it wasn't as if he was really giving them anything to look at, of course. Though when two of them actually repositioned to get a better look, he decided he was done and hopped back to his paws.

Racing purred as he settled down next to her, and shuffled over to press herself against him more firmly. She'd given him a lot to think about through the course of the day… She was a fun and active Lightstriker, capable of matching him in speed, but that wasn't everything of course. She had yet to show a kind and caring side, as while she had been more than happy to do anything with him he more often than not got the impression it was more for her own enjoyment than his.

Multiple times she had spoken with subtle undertones of disappointment or frustration, usually while he steered her even slightly away from anything she wanted to do; usually something that would involve lots of physical contact. He was sure there were some things he was missing too…

A muffled sound had him look over at two females cleaning each other… Wrrr, no, one female standing over another, who was on her back, to clean her hindquarters…

Or… not… Realisation dawned slowly, heat rising through Dreamer's body but particularly burning in his ears. The female on her back was breathing deeply and pawing at the other in a lame attempt to push her away, not even remotely trying, while her hindpaws flexed and grabbed at air.

He managed to break his gaze free to look around, finding about half the other females watching them, not even the same ones as had watched him groom himself. The rest paid it no attention, as if this was common happenstance; perhaps it was.

Racing nudged him with a quiet purr, twisting her body a little against his to remind him they were touching, although his thoughts were more on getting out of there than anything she might be hoping for. Unfortunately, Wanderer was still out with Searching, and Dreamer didn't want to fly off and sleep alone. He could fly off and return later… but Racing would follow, and after this he didn't feel like being alone with her.

There was a tense, muted sound that persisted for several seconds, and then the female lying on her back slumped into the sand, panting lightly. The one over her just stepped back and began cleaning her own side, as nonchalant as could be.

Rising had told them to find somewhere private for mating, which implied that this wasn't normal behaviour. But everyone else was so unbothered by it that it didn't seem like something out of the ordinary. The only explanation he had was that the rules were different for him and Wanderer; perhaps because they were males, Nightstrikers, or outsiders.

That nap he had been considering was sounding like a good idea the more he thought about it. The comforting murmur had never really stopped, and Racing was purring against his side, the low vibration rolling through his body…

Except when he closed his eyes, his thoughts were filled with vivid depictions of females, and the aroused feminine scent emanating from beside him wasn't helping matters. This was going to be a long night…

The next light, Dreamer excused himself from whatever they had been doing to take a solo flight. He hadn't been following the game, and was as distracted by his body's perpetual desires as some things he'd realised.

He hadn't taken Ghoster's words to heart… but with them, certain things made more sense. Racing was definitely manipulative, and not in a way that he could really overlook. A few times she'd asked him to do something, something simple such as scratching her back, and then done it herself afterwards anyway, as if he'd done it insufficiently. At the time he'd just passively resolved to do better, to do more, but wasn't that exactly what she'd wanted?

He growled and shook his head as he flew, turning a slow circle around the mountain that made up the Lightstrikers' nest. She was quite intelligent, but very young, and it often showed in the way she thought and acted.

Aside from that, he just needed a break. His midsection ached from the constant tension – it had never abated from the previous night – that radiated up from his hindquarters, a frustrating and constant distraction. He vaguely remembered it being like this as a human too, but this was worse for the very different kind of company he was currently keeping. He definitely wanted to be out of here by the end of the cooling-season.

He finished his lap of the mountain, an abrupt end to the rock revealing the nest of Lightstrikers below. Rather than drifting back down, however, he set down on the nearest ledge to watch.

The game Wanderer was playing with the females still baffled him. He could clearly see his friend's dark shape as it milled around many white ones. Then it all suddenly erupted into chaos while they all ran around seemingly completely randomly, before settling back into walking again.

After watching several iterations of this, lightly flapping wings alerted him to some new company on his lonely outcrop of rock. "Why you are here, not down there?" the female asked, landing with a flourish of her tail and then peering down the nest.

Dreamer shrugged. "I not… comfortable, with them. I know why, some… but more reasons I not know. Hard for explain."

"Maybe that hard to explain," she said, giving him a pointed look with the emphasis, "because you are like them. Like our males also. You not understand this yet."

"But you understand?" he asked, glancing sideways at her.

She sighed and pawed at the edge, flicking her claws over the lip. "Now, I understand. I tried tell them, they not understand, not want listen. Will you?"

"You not seem very quiet." Dreamer countered, more curious about that first. "Why you are Whispering?"

Whispering growled surprise, jumping a little, then glared at him before glaring down into the nest. "Rising… I should bite her."

"But you know my name already," he pointed out. "Now you know how that feel for me."

"I not can be much annoyed, maybe," she conceded, albeit begrudgingly. "I am good with words. Not only words, but mostly words. I know how make people think what I want."

"I know another female like that," Dreamer said with a quiet growl.

Whispering chuffed amusement. "Racing, yes." He looked at her in surprise. "I teach her that. Wrrr, not teach what she do. Just how to use words." She met his confused gaze for several moments before continuing. "Like now, I have started telling you many things. You want know all these things, so you want to talk with me much. Maybe you forget thing also, then you will want to talk with me later."

He chuffed, impressed. "That sound like what Racing do also."

"'Sound like'," Whispering repeated ponderously. "You use words strangely. But I like these words. Maybe I will use them. Yes, Racing do this also. But I only want talk. Racing wanted more? I not surprised." She stared into the distance and took a deep breath, the sign of someone carrying a weight they were about to share. "I was like her, not much time past. Chasing males, tricking them to like me. But I was better at that than Racing. I caught one."

"That not went well," Dreamer guessed, given her current availability and lack of mate.

"We both were stupid hatchlings," she laughed dryly. "Then we both understand. I have lived nineteen hot-seasons. He still is young, still with other males… but I think he will learn sooner than others, he has good thinking."

"What you understand?" Dreamer asked, helplessly playing into her game even after she'd told him about it.

"That all this," she waved her snout down to the playing Nightstriker and Lightstrikers below, "is stupid." Dreamer snorted. "Yes, very stupid," she agreed, "all females are together, friends, but also court males together. They all see what other females doing, try do better. All fighting just to get male to notice them. But they forget they need know that male, want him be their mate. They forget to choose who they will be with for many lives. But they not can choose, because males do that also."

"They all trying get noticed but not think about who is noticing them," he groaned, putting a paw on his head. That was definitely part of what was bothering him, now that he thought about it. These females were fighting so much for his attention without even knowing whether or not they wanted him. They just assumed as much because he was strong and a Nightstriker, getting caught up in competing with each other, more interested in his attention than actually getting to know him. And all they did was try to show each other up all the time, so he rarely got to see who they were in return.

"So I not do that now." She purred as her gaze drifted over the nest. "Male maybe will court me one light, only me. Fly away from that stupid courting because he understands it is stupid… I not think they even know I left."

Below, Wanderer and the females played, chasing each other around, oblivious to this conversation. "People often take much time for understand they being stupid," Dreamer joked.

"They can take much time to understand, yes."

"I will learn how use… how to use that word," he promised. "It would help if you can tell me what I doing wrong. I only learn from Wanderer, but he…"

"I understand," she hummed solemnly. "It not your fault, I know. I will help." She blinked, then turned to give him a strange look. "Did you…?"

It took him more than a few moments to figure out he'd just hooked her into future conversations and wanting to talk to him. "I not mean do that!" he laughed. "I do want your help. I want know… want to know."

"No, not use it there," she chuckled. "You want know. You want to learn. Understand?"

Dreamer hummed thoughtfully. "I think I should practise," he said, shooting a grin at her. "We should talk much. Then I will learn much faster."

"You still are terrible," she laughed, swatting at him. "But I think maybe you understand."

"I think I always knew," he said, staring down at the gathering of females. "I knew, but not understand. Always… had bad feeling that they not want know me first."

"They need do that, yes," Whispering agreed, ruffling her wings as she settled at the edge of the outcrop. "Hrrr, but I wanted to ask, why they always on their backs near you? Like you make them lazy."

"That just me!?" he practically yelped, staring at her incredulously, then groaned. "I not know. I wish they not would do that." The previous evening came to mind again, sounds echoing unbidden through his mind…

Curiosity, she hummed. "I will ask someone later. But now I want know how you knew that would scare Long-Paws." She narrowed her eyes to the distance, tilting her head and lifting a stubby ear. "We fought them before, they always fight us. But they run from that?"

"I will need explain much…"

"Wrrr, I have many things I need do this light," she said sarcastically, "I need scratch my ears, lick my tail, also lie on my back around one male because it will make him want me."

Dreamer stared blankly at her for a few long heartbeats, trying not to laugh. "I almost say we have time," he teased, "but you have much you need do this light. Maybe I will go find other female who want know about Long-Paws who live in sky that all Long-Paws fear, also respect, but never have seen."

"Wait, what!?" she exclaimed, bursting out laughing. "I will lick my tail later, I want know about that!"

Dreamer purred smugly. "I thought that. So-"

"But my ear really is itchy," she interrupted, leaning back to scratch it vigorously with a hindleg and quietly groaning relief.

"...Done?" he asked. She shook herself before chuffing and settling back down, giving him her full attention. "Long-Paws," he chuffed, "are very stupid…"

Wanderer let out a long and exhausted sigh, then glanced at the sinking sky-fire. It was very warm, but so was he, and he found himself wanting to find some cool rock in the shade to lie on.

He was tired of this game anyway. The one they had been playing all light, certainly, but also pawing through all these posturing females. He felt… like someone had laid out a bunch of different kills for him to choose, as if he would know what any of them tasted like before he picked one. It was becoming tiresome. Perhaps Dreamer was onto something with this plan to take one aside each light and meet them all that way, even if that felt… too strict and confining.

…Where was Dreamer, anyway? Wanderer looked around and failed to locate him. "Where Dreamer?" he asked, sitting on his haunches and spreading his wings a little to catch the breeze.

The females all stopped the game to look around and at each other, clearly having no idea either. Wanderer churred thoughtfully. "I will find him," he decided, then further stretched his wings and leaped into the sky.

He purred as the cool air rushed past his scales and membranes, over his tongue, leeching the heat from him. His paws too, but he was certain they weren't working as well since being cut and tortured. That wasn't an issue, at least so far, but he suspected strenuous activity in the middle of the hot-season might be uncomfortable. Just another constant reminder of the potential cruelty of Long-Paws.

He spotted Dreamer quickly, lying on a ledge with a Lightstriker, another female by the look of them. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves, talking animatedly and with ears and frills up. Curious, he drifted over to them and into a landing; to his surprise, it wasn't Rising as he'd expected.

"Wanderer!" Dreamer barked happily, leaping up to give him a brief nuzzle. "This is Whispering," he said excitedly, stepping to the side and backing up.

"Wanderer," he introduced himself, however unnecessarily, as she stood and took the pawful of steps to exchange scents-

His eyes widened and dilated as he recognised her availability, but not anything else. "I was telling Dreamer how stupid this nest is," she said lightly with a purr, turning to look down to where he'd left the other females.

"Stupid?" he echoed, left floundering in a wind that had suddenly changed direction; trust Dreamer to be swarmed with females, only to ignore them all and dig up another one.

"Yes," Dreamer chuffed. "Then I was telling her how stupid Long-Paws are."

"They really drink rotted water?" she exclaimed, her tail twitching behind her, blue eyes round and curious. He'd somehow not noticed how round the dark centres of their eyes were until this moment.

"Yes," he said slowly. "It make them happy. Also more stupid." She looked at him as if he'd suggested eating rocks, and he churred thoughtfully. "There maybe some from where they fled?"

"No," Dreamer huffed, "they would drink that very fast. Also I not think we should go back there."

"Rising said we not should go back," Whispering agreed, turning her head to look out towards that field. While she wasn't looking, Wanderer shot Dreamer a confused and bewildered glance, but he just looked back with wide, innocent eyes. "Not matter," Whispering hummed. "What you think of our nest? You think is stupid also?"

Wanderer wasn't sure what to make of this female. Confident and lively, he could tell that just from this brief interaction, but she wasn't chasing him like the others… "I not feel much good about it," he admitted. "Something here blows wrong across my wings. I not like… something. I not know." She purred at that, her eyes drifting over him and regarding him anew…

"I will get fish for us," Dreamer crooned, then suddenly leaped into the sky and raced off before they could even think of following him, disappearing over the rock wall behind them.

"He is strange Nightstriker," Whispering hummed warmly, staring after him.

"Very strange," Wanderer agreed. "But he is very good. Always want do things for others… sometimes too much. But warm winds follow where he flies."

"He say much good about you also," she purred. "You are kind, brave, have good thinking. How you understand things he does not. You are very close friend-mates."

He pawed at the ground. "That is many good words," he rumbled, abashed. "I only try help. Not like seeing people hurt. But I not can do what Dreamer does."

"Maybe," she hummed. "But he not can do what you do…" Her ear went up and her nose twitched as she trailed off. "Why I can smell Searching?" she asked curiously, scenting in his direction again.

"Still?" he growled quietly, sniffing about himself, then groaned. "Dreamer played game with them, if they catch him they can groom him. But nobody can catch Dreamer. Then they want play that with me also… Searching was tricky."

Whispering winced, humming realisation, sympathy. "She is flying difficult winds with you. She found you, so she says what females can do with you."

"Why her?" Wanderer asked; that seemed to make little sense, surely Rising would have made it more impartial?

"I not know why… but I think it so she will bring you here, not hide you from other females. Some would do that." That was… admittedly a good point, he would expect that behaviour from at least a few he'd met. Whispering tossed her head and looked down over the nest, where some of the females had taken to flying around. "But she not can do much with you. She says how high pack can fly with you, but others will always go small distance higher than her. If she rises above them, they keep flying higher… until you not want be here."

Wanderer huffed, watching a Lightstriker fly short loops around the nest. "That sounds stupid."

"I already say this nest stupid," she laughed dryly. "For how we court. But… it was fun. We not nest like you, so I happy I had that."

"I not want nest like this," Wanderer huffed. Perhaps, if they had, all his family would still be alive… but he felt stifled here, overwhelmed.

Dreamer suddenly reappeared over the rock wall. Wanderer and Whispering watched him as he awkwardly landed on his hindlegs, a fish clutched in each foreleg and two more in his teeth, their heads and tails dangling out from either side of his mouth. Wanderer unsuccessfully tried to catch both fish as Dreamer tossed his head to throw them, and then Whispering was provided the other two. Dreamer then growled at his foreleg. "We need find some land-prey. Fish is nice but I tired for always cleaning off salt." He then licked at the limb, occupying himself with the task of cleaning while Wanderer and Whispering ate. After finishing his meal, Wanderer gave himself a few rough licks to further dilute the scent he was apparently still covered in, then helped Dreamer.

He didn't really pay much attention to the light teasing between Whispering and Dreamer. His thoughts were elsewhere, appreciating how she was interesting and engaging but not trying to claw into every activity. He purred, knowing he still had a lot to learn about her… and looking forward to it.