Proquess was greatly relieved when the flight with the stranger dragon Wrellin was cancelled; it meant that she didn't have to reconcile her very confused and agitated feelings about Shishayair deciding to chase, mate, and sire children. She was quite content to have him to herself, cool distance and vague superiority and all, and be his only partner in crime and play alike. The thought of him finding someone else to take under his wing made her feel both forlorn and prickly-angry. She didn't have anyone else in all the worlds except him, and if she didn't have him, she would be all alone.

At least, she'd hoped she wouldn't have to deal with those feelings... as it turned out, Shishayair wasn't in the least bit daunted by the cancellation of one flight. Instead, he merely sought out another.

And, in his unfathomable way, he simply told her about it, with the assumption that she would have no objection, framing it in the same way he had the last time.

::I never did get to teach you that lesson, did I?:: he asked her one day as they cleaned up after a particularly messy meal they'd made out of someone's prize bull, on a world whose name Proquess had forgotten, but which had excellent livestock for stealing and dining upon.

::Which lesson is that?:: she asked, unaware of the direction his mind had turned.

::The one I was forced to abandon when Star City closed its hatching bays to public clutches,:: he clarified, and she remembered, and immediately went tense.

::Perhaps it was for the best,:: she suggested carefully.

::But it is such an important lesson,:: he mused, as if to himself. ::I should not be remiss in teaching it to you. I would hate for your education to be incomplete.::

Proquess said nothing, and he let the topic die-- at least until their next trip to Star City. They walked the crowded, metallic streets; since they had officially made no trouble on the station, Shishayair had told her, there was no reason to be secretive or shy. They were window-shopping, a term Shishayair had told her, which Proquess rather liked: they went from store-front to store-front, peering in at the wares and making comments to each other about them. Most of those comments were derogatory, but that didn't make the activity any less entertaining, or amusing.

It did get a little less entertaining and amusing, however, when Proquess realized they were following someone. Not just anyone, but a female. Proquess could smell her, and sense her. Even worse, as soon as she realized what they were doing, Shishayair decided to comment on it. He'd obviously been paying attention to her thoughts, which she didn't really mind, under most circumstances.

::Her name is Dread Corollary,:: he told her, mind-voice amused and, she noted with a little rumbling in the pit of her stomach that she didn't know how to identify, oddly impressed. More pointedly, it was a tone he hadn't taken when speaking of Wrellin. When he echoed the image back to her, she could see why: vibrantly white and black, one side of each, with thick fur and reflective wings and paws, and seven heads. Seven heads! True, six of them were lesser, snake-like and writhing senselessly from her shoulders, but still! Seven heads! She was, in a word, stunning, and certainly the sort of person her multiheaded bond and guardian would be content to make children with. Would want to mate with, for that matter. 

It wasn't fair.

::I think I might just see if she's signed up to rise anywhere,:: Shishayair murmured, as much to himself as to Proquess. Then, more to her, he added, ::It will be a perfect way to introduce you to that lesson I've been meaning to teach you.::

Yes. It was definitely not fair.

Shishayair paused and turned his main head to her, though all three of his lesser heads stayed trained on the cat-like, multiheaded creature. ::Another lesson, my dear,:: he told her sternly: ::Life is very rarely fair. The only way you get anything is to stand up for yourself and take it. Perhaps this will help to teach you that, as well.::

Proquess quelled the mutinous urge to chase down this Dread Corollary and bite off a few of her extra heads, simply dropping her own head meekly and letting him lead the way to the nearest terminal to investigate the database of rising and chasing dragons that the space station kept. Whatever "lesson" this chasing of females was, Proquess didn't think she liked it.

The Flight - Chapter Five

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