Post by Whim on Oct 7, 2012 5:40:31 GMT -5
Flights
Queen females fly once every turn, during and immediately before a Pass, or once every two to three turns, during an Interval. Green, Lash, and Orange females fly once every three to four months, and Sail females fly once every six to eight months.
In the days before her flight, a female may (or may not) show shifts in her mood or energy levels, which may or may not affect her rider as well. In the hours before the flight she will become extremely restless, and sometimes either irritable or excited. Again, these effects may carry over to her rider, though they tend to be toned down if they do.
When it is time for the flight, the female will become hungry, and want to eat. It is generally believed that the weight of food will weigh her down, shorten her flight, and (if she's a Queen) reduce the size of her clutch, so Queen riders generally force their dragons to blood their kills; drinking the blood of the animals (often about four) but not eating the meat. (Forcing a Queen in pre-flight hunger to eat some meat but not much is nearly impossible; if she eats at all, she will gorge.) As she does this, males will gather, watching the female and waiting.
After eating, the female will launch herself into the air, and lead all males that choose to follow on a chase. She will test their speed, endurance, and agility, before finally choosing a mate. While it is possible for a male to catch a female without her being willing, the female can (and will) refuse to mate, in which case the flight often ends with no mating at all. The female will also, often, fight back, and in some cases has gone Between to escape (and taken the male with her). To prevent losses like this, all males and their riders are trained from hatching to never, ever attempt this, and if a male does, it's very likely that other males in the flight will attack him for it.
If the female is fertile, she will lay eggs a month after the flight. They will then harden on the hatching sands for three more weeks before hatching, watched over by the mother and any dragons she chooses to relieve her when she needs to eat or sleep. Generally, this is either the father of the clutch, or a particularly gentle female, though if two females have eggs hardening at the same time, they will often share egg watching duties.