Mating Flight Information

[Kreysthahl]

A mating flight occurs when a female dragon (Iridescent, Red, & [f] Green) rises to mate with whatever male (Silver, Bronze, Blue, [m] Green) dragon that catches her.

NOTE: Riders of female dragons that will clutch must get permission to have a mating flight. Riders of female dragons that will not clutch may RP a mating flight any time. Do not RP any graphic content. Just hint at it.

Before the Flight

A Red and female Green will become very irritable a day or so before the flight with a Red more irritable than a female Green who is close to rise. A female Green will glow slightly, a Red will glow a bit brighter than a female Green and an Iridescent will have a golden hue and reflect golden under the sun or any form of light, to let everyone know that she will mate soon. To announce their readiness for a mating flight, the female dragons bugle their challenge to the male dragons before either blooding or taking to the skies.

In preparation for the mating flight, if they haven't fed yet, the female dragons would need to blood the animals in the feeding grounds so that they have the stamina and energy needed to perform a long mating flight. Before the blooding, the female dragons' and female Riders' minds haven't merged yet. For Reds and female Greens, if they have fed prior, they do not need to do a blooding. For an Iridescent, she will most definitely need to blood but remember to be firm and let her blood only and not eat the meat. By this time, the female dragon's mind and their Rider's mind have merged into one and what the dragon feels the Rider feels. For Iridescent Riders, they need to dominate their dragon's mind when it comes to blooding so that the dragon does not take in any meat before the mating flight. Taking in meat would make her heavy and make flying fast, harder since they have a belly-full of meat instead of just blood.

After blooding, the female dragons will once again bellow to let the whole den know that she is finally ready for the chase by aspiring male dragons. By this time, the male dragons' minds and their Riders' minds have already merged. After the bellow and after launching off the ground or ledge, the female dragons' and their Riders' minds have now merged and think as one where the dragon personality is dominant.

During the Flight

This is the only occasion when a dragon will fly for a long time without her or his Rider. When the flight starts, the Riders of the males will form a circle around the Rider of the female. The female dragons will try to avoid the male dragons for as long as possible. For the Reds and female Greens, the chase is not too long, but female Greens are more flirtatious than Reds. However, for an Iridescent, she will want to get away from her pursuers until only a handful of dragons are left. This way it will cause those who aren't "worthy' to fall out of the chase. However, the female is eventually caught in the end by the one, she deems the worthiest, or the one that can outmaneuver her. (NOTE: The owner of the female Rider character chooses the winner)

After the Flight

When the female is caught, the two dragons mate in midair, they twine necks and tails, but with the male dragon guiding and supporting them. Since the dragons' and Riders' minds, have merged, the Riders duplicate the act themselves. Those dragons that fall out of the chase usually just fly away to rest, or find somewhere to hide. Everyone in the Den is affected in one way or other. Riders whose dragons have fallen out of the chase, or didn't catch the female, will often find themselves in the arms of another willing female or given a very strong drink to sleep away the tension. Non-Rider folk at the Den will just experience what the Riders feel, mildly, and continue functioning as if everything was normal. After the dragons mate, they will return to the Den and sleep next to each other in the female dragon's Rider's Den. When the Riders wake, they are themselves again, and may not recall all the details, but each knows what eventually happened. Relationships occurring from flights are very rare. If the person is already in a relationship and their mate's dragon (or if they don't have a dragon) doesn't catch their dragon and another Rider's does, they will not or should not take offense to this, since the Rider can't affect the outcome of the mating flight.

Green Flights
This is very common. The day or so before she rises, the Green will be irritable, thus cause her Rider to be so. A Green rises 6 to 9 times a Cycle at around 2 Cycles of age. Most often, Blues and male Greens will catch a female Green. However, a Bronze or Silver will occasionally catch a female Green.

If they never breathe fire or ice, they could produce a clutch of 2 -10 eggs. They would be pregnant for three weeks, lay the eggs, and the clutch will hatch in one week.

Red Flights
They don't rise as often as a Green does, but it is common. A Red rises 4 to 6 times a Cycle at around 2 Cycles and 8 months of age. Bronzes and Blues most often catch Reds; occasionally a Silver will take flight and catch her, or a sly/quick male Green will sneak on in. If they never breathe fire, they could produce a clutch of 2 -12 eggs. They would be pregnant for four weeks, lay the eggs, and the clutch will hatch in two weeks.

If a Red and Green rise to mate at the same time, the Red will challenge the Green, but more often than not, the Green will back down and let the Red have the males. In addition, when an Iridescent and a Red rise to mate at the same time, some Reds have been known to challenge an Iridescent. However, more often than not, a Red will defer to the Iridescent.

Queen Flights
These are rare, compared to the others, but their mating flights are far more dramatic. An iridescent only rises 1 to 3 times a Cycle, beginning at the age of 3 Cycles old. When the Queen wakes on the day of her flight, she will show a mental ferocity that can overwhelm most Queen Riders at first, or she can appear calm until she wishes to feed. She will then find herself starving, and will seek to devour several animals held in feeding pens. One must prevent the Queen from devouring the meat for it will be harder for the dragon to rise for her mating flight and maneuvering will be difficult. Instead, the Iridescent Rider must force her dragon to only blood the beasts. When the Queen has blooded three to five animals (one cannot let her blood too many either), she will be ready to fly. Queens give off a much stronger golden glow, and their challenging call is louder and stronger. Silvers usually catch Iridescents, for they are often the same size as a Queen. An exceptional Bronze might also be able to do so, and is acceptable for junior Queens. A Blue or Green mating with a Queen is unheard of though some join for the honor and the chase.

All Queens are fertile, so after a flight they will be "pregnant" for five weeks, developing her eggs, which they then lay a clutch of about 10-60 eggs. Both extremes are rare, but the longer the flight, the more eggs will be clutched. After another three weeks, the eggs will hatch. If a Red or Green rise at the same time an Iridescent does, these dragons, the Red and Green, will most certainly back down.

A Queen Rider must be in tune with her dragon to know when she will rise, for if another Iridescent is due to rise around the same time, this can be disastrous. For the rising Queen can cause the other Queen, who is due to rise soon, to rise early. Neither Iridescent will back down, and will often engage in fighting. This is why it is important to get Iridescents out of the Den when another Iridescent rises, and all Reds and female Greens who are due to rise soon, just to be safe.

Male dragons and their Riders

Upon hearing the call of the female dragons, the male dragons who are interested with the female dragon will either do their own blooding or take to the skies to chase after the female dragon. Male dragon instinct of what to do before, during, and after the mating flight have already been imprinted in their genes so male dragons don't need a lot of instructions from their male Riders unlike the female dragons who need their female Riders' domination and guidance especially during the blooding. Male Riders usually just go with the flow when it comes to mating flights letting their male dragons be in charge.