manoveurs
Ascan has no need to be fast. Noone needs to be fast in a race when their flight patterns are this unpredictable to all other participants.
He's waiting for Prawn and Esz to catch on, to decide on some obvious start and end points, the way Kekki is screaming from the ground for them to do, "HELLO, are you STUPID??!"
But Prawn is a little occupied laughing without falling out of the sky because Esz has taken Ascan's continued last second escapes as a challenge/personal affront.
He can't quite dare slow down enough to really make it blatant he's playing with her because then he will fall out of the sky, or worse, overthink it to the point he ties himself into a knot and then fall out of the sky, and calling out taunts would be too much acknowledgement. Gotta make it look effortless and unconcerned.
Evading another pass with a loop in a different direction momentarily has Ascan face Prawn. Who's wheezing hard and actually somewhat concerning. No clue about Guardians specifically, but breathing is important to all flightened things, surely?
Time to cut this short. Not that he wasn't ready to stop a bit ago. But also, playing! Not at all the same since he changed breed.
He thinks as much and promptly, like one of the Gods has it out for him, Trouble whistles, biting into them before they even properly set their paws down, about not overstraining Esz so soon and so callously, about not making her overstrain herself, which, okay, a glance is enough to reveal her not looking so flash, but still sounds really rather questionable, since noone can make Esz do anything.
Yet when Redge raises that selfsame objection from where Ginn and her keep Kekki company on the ground (or in Ginns case - you know what he means), Trouble readily counters with "Different dragon species have different impulses, and you need to be more considerate!" that last part addressed at Prawn and Ascan especially.
By this point Kekki has walked over to Esz, who curls into herself under everyones attention. Uncharacteristic and thus a sure sign Trouble is onto something.
The admission comes out in stutters, that she felt the need to mimic Ascans aeral moves, something that could not possibly have gotten her anywhere, with her spine not nearly bendy enough and two sets of wings too few besides. Even if the one set she has is nothing to sneeze at at all!
Anyway, yeah, no taunting Esz in such a physical way, got it.
Ginn corralls Trouble and Redge (and their familiars) away, into leaving them alone, to go hunting or some such.
Which leaves them.
Uncompfortable.
Less uncompfortable than if they stayed, maybe, but.
"So what'll we do now?" Prawn asks what Ascan is certainly thinking.
Adjust their outfits apparently. Or, as everyone is careful not to spell out, make Esz a whole new one, since her last can't be saved.
Ascan is happy with his and still feels awkward besides, so he begs off. After nudging each of his nestmates, Esz in apology, he takes flight again.
Far, far overhead, Caesar's circling. A truth both known and visible, faintly, provided that green glint against the storm there is him. Best check, though.
Ascan loops higher almost lazily. How does Caesar still glint, anyway, with all those clothes he wears? Any why is he, Ascan, thinking about this?
When he gets close enough to verify that yeah, that's a clan member, alright, lightning arches by, its thunder swallowing whatever either of them might have said.
A thought echoes similarily and far too late; he has never been this high before.
He makes it to Caesar and reflex has him safely curl around so the sudden and entirely irrational vertigo does not drop him out of the sky. That would be a phenomenally stupid way to die. Since being this high up does not actually pose him any issues. Though he knows the air should be thinner he can breath compfortably enough and even the stronger wind impacts him little.
Shruggin unhappily, Caesar asks "Are you alright?"
He explains.
"So go back down," Caesar says, merciless, and leaving no doubt about having choosen the place to be alone.
Notes:
This festival was kind to me also. I've got two eliminates, one ambush, four genes, 44 chests, all the usual loot and two eggs, Arcane and Wind, both from
coli and bringing the current total count up to six (6). Which is getting way too high again.
As for the story side of things... Well, I don't know that anyone even reads this, but. There was supposed to be some overarching theme/plot and then it got lost. On the upside, character development or at least interactions, all that good stuff, right??