Homeward Flight by Oridian

Homeward Flight

Oridian, Adolescent, Adventure, Aroused, Belly riding, Character Development, City, Clit, Clitoris, Coastal, Cock, Creampie, Cuddle, Cuddling, Cum, Cumming, Cumshot, Cute, Dick, Dragon, Dragoness, Drake, Ejaculation, Erection, Explicit, Fellatio, Female, Flight, Flying, Forest, Friendship, Heterosexual, Hug, Humping, Infatuation, Kissing, Knot, Love, Lust, M/F, Magic, Male, Male/Female, Mating, Mating Flight, Non-Anthro, Oral, Oral Sex, Orgasm, Outdoors, Paw, Pawing, Paws, Penetration, Penis, Pre, Precum, Pussy, Quadruped, Relationships, Romance, Scales, Sea, Sex, Sky, Snuggles, Straight, Tail, Tailplay, Teenager, Teenagers, Vagina, Vaginal, Vulva, Wings, Worldbuilding, Young Love, Young Romance, coast, crush, embarrassed, expedition, flying sex, friends, harbour, independence, semen, sky sex, talking, town, travel

#11 of Breakhorn (Series)

After their days of adventuring, Pyxis and Nerlin undertake the last part of their expedition together as they complete their return journey to the City of Wings.

After their days of adventuring, Pyxis and Nerlin undertake the final part of their expedition together as they complete their return journey to the City of Wings.

The sky was filled with sunshine and scattered clouds as Nerlin and Pyxis took to the air, quickly gaining altitude with steady flaps of their wings. Their inn room keys had been returned and their payment had been settled, and now they were departing Maringe.

The cool ocean breeze was refreshing, and the morning sunlight was already creating thermal updrafts which let the two young dragons easily climb into the blue skies. Pyxis glanced back at Maringe, looking at the messy coastal town with all its beaches, streets, and buildings. It had been fun visiting this town, and the settlement had lived up to its reputation as a place that was both vibrant tourist hotspot and busy trading hub.

With Nerlin leading the way, they flew southwards and away from town, heading towards the tall cliffs which were further down the coastline. On a vast tectonic scale the land here was bumpy and wrinkled as it met the ocean, with the town of Maringe being placed in a natural indentation which formed a harbour. Elsewhere there were cliffs and sandy beaches where the ocean slammed against the land in foamy waves.

The lookout point had a single flagpole stuck right into the top of a clifftop plateau, where this roughly flat grassy meadow was the highest point for a huge distance. There was a metal signboard right next to the flagpole marking out the visible points of interest in Maringe, which was still visible a moderate distance away.

Pyxis flared her flight scales as she came in for landing, cutting her lift and dragging away as much forward speed as she could before touchdown. Nerlin landed seconds after her, and he flicked his wings before smoothly furling them onto his back.

The strong ocean breeze made Pyxis's neck frill flutter as she glanced around. A family of two adult dragons with a little hatchling and an older fledgling was already looking around the area, and a trio of elderly drakka were sitting at the cliffs edge and staring out over the ocean.

"Ok. This is the lookout point. I guess we just look at things?" Pyxis said.

"That's the idea," Nerlin agreed.

Pyxis triggered her farsight--natural telescopic lenses slid into place within her eyes, along with a transparent eyelid which would work together to amplify her vision. She looked around, taking in the sights. Towards the south were more tall jagged cliffs, while towards the north was the town of Maringe with all its numerous buildings. Eastwards was inland, where rolling grassy hills stretched across the world, with occasional groves of forests spread out between the hills. And westwards was the open ocean--a huge, seemingly endless expanse of water which stretched all the way to the horizon, only broken up by a scattered cluster of small islands a short distance away from the mainland.

Pyxis glanced at the signboard, which had the name of those offshore land formations. "The Sea Serpent Stacks. That's a mouthful to say," she murmured. The rock formations resembled tall, almost vertical columns of rock protruding steeply out of the ocean like pillars.

Nerlin came up and sat down beside her. He took out his pamphlet and began reading out information. "The Sea Serpent Stacks are named after an antiquated name for aquatic dragons. However, despite the name and contrary to popular belief, the Sea Serpent Stacks have never been inhabited by dragons, though seabirds commonly nest there. The seas around the stacks are extremely rough, and there is no way to climb from the base to the top of the stacks without using stone magic. In a long past geological era the stacks were simply part of the coastal cliff, but now the ocean has eroded away the shoreline and left the stacks isolated because they are made of a slightly denser stone than the surrounding coastline."

"Interesting," Pyxis said, and Nerlin kept reading.

"There are eight rock pillars of various sizes, with six more shorter 'stumps' which are partially or completely submerged based on the tide. Of all the stacks, the largest is called Horn Rock. There is a lookout point on Horn Rock which provides a scenic view of Maringe Harbour and the surrounding coastline. Families with children or elderly are strongly discouraged from visiting, as the winds can be strong and falling into the ocean is extremely dangerous."

"Huh! That's very interesting." Pyxis used her farsight to look over the distant stacks, examining the rocky formations from afar. One stack in particular was significantly larger and almost a small island--the place called Horn Rock. "Another lookout point over there. Want to go visit? It sounds interesting."

"We've got plenty of time. Sure," Nerlin agreed.

Pyxis disengaged her farsight and trotted forward to the edge of the cliff, and she stretched her neck to peer over the cliff. Far below, waves could be seen pounding at a sandy beach. Pyxis watched the rhythmic motions of the ocean for a few seconds, then she leapt forwards and threw open her wings. The gusting winds easily pulled her into the sky.

Nerlin was right beside her, and together the two dragons took to the air, flying out to sea and towards the northwest, heading for the Sea Serpent Stacks.

The Sea Serpent Stacks were close offshore, and it just took a few minutes of leisurely flying for Nerlin and Pyxis to reach the rock formations. They spent some time slowly circling around the various stacks, observing them from the air.

As had been stated in the tourist information pamphlet, there were eight proper stacks of full height scattered in a loose cluster in the sea. Each was a massive pillar of stone that rose high out of the ocean, and all these stacks came up to the same height, marking the remnants of the ancient coastal cliff which had once existed all the way out here, in what was now ocean. There were several other smaller pillars which had partially or totally collapsed into the water, torn down by gravity and natural erosion.

The westmost stack (furthest away from the mainland) was already partially collapsed, though it remained at full height. Instead the relentless action of the sea had weathered out its centre near the bottom, leaving two separate pillars which rose out of the ocean and merged midway to become a single thicker pillar.

Nerlin dived and swooped right through this arch, half-folding in his wings and spinning around in a showy roll right as he passed through the middle. "Eek! Nerlin!" Pyxis let out a shocked squeak out of fear for his safety, but Nerlin made it through without any incident. On closer exanimation there was easily enough space to fly through this arch, yet the thought that Nerlin might accidently crash the rock pillar and be thrown into the rough seas was still mildly terrifying.

Out of all the Sea Serpent Stacks, the largest was Horn Rock, located near the centre of all the different rock pillars. Pyxis circled around the stack until she was downwind, then she lined herself up for a careful final approach. There was plenty of space for landing, and she flared her wings right on touchdown to land lightly on her paws. Moments later, Nerlin landed just beside her.

In her mind, Pyxis had a brief vision of the whole rock pillar shaking and collapsing under their sudden combined weight, but this of course did not happen. Each of the Sea Serpent Stacks was a massive spire of rock, large and solid enough to have withstood eons of erosion from constant winds, pounding waves, and fierce storms. The weight of two dragons was totally insignificant compared to the immense mass of these natural formations, and it would have taken at least dozens of dragons all using rock magic together to somehow affect them.

Unlike the lookout point on the mainland, the small area on the top of Horn Rock was completely deserted. There was no grass here, just a flat rocky plateau with a flag waving about in the wind. Pyxis estimated that the plateau had enough space for around ten dragons standing side by side with wings open. The view from Horn Rock also had less to see compared to the previous lookout point because of the greater distance to Maringe, but it provided a different perspective and an up-close view of the other Sea Serpent Stacks.

It was a strange feeling, standing here on top of this massive rock pillar. Pyxis had a sensation of being totally isolated, even more so than when they'd been deep in the wilderness of the Julnir Mountains, despite the town of Maringe being close by. There was so much open water stretching out for immense distances which boggled the mind. "This is the furthest west I've ever been," Pyxis murmured, sitting back on her haunches.

Nerlin said nothing, but he sat down next to her and let their tails entwine. The sea breeze was strong here, creating a rushing backdrop of noise. Feeling another impulse, Pyxis raised her head and spat out a long burst of frostbreath straight upwards, creating a cloud of condensation that was quickly swept away by the breeze. Then she cut off her magic and roared as loud as she could, throwing her voice into the wind. "Skrrrryaaaahhh!"

When her roar trailed off, Pyxis realized that Nerlin was staring at her. Her neck frill drooped in embarrassment, but then Nerlin raised his head and roared as well, letting out a loud wordless call. "Ryaaah!!" Still sitting down, Nerlin threw open his wings, letting them catch them wind. "Just us and the world!" he shouted.

Pyxis laughed and she threw her wings open too. It was the two of them shouting out to the vastness of the world, announcing their presence to no one. Back in the city, Pyxis almost never roared. In the streets, in school, even in her own home, other dragons were always nearby and the sound would very likely be heard. But offshore on this rock pillar in the ocean, there was no one else but the two of them. They could roar all they wanted to, and no one would hear them but each other.

Pyxis looked back towards the shore and squinted at Maringe, looking over the harbour and the town. The Sea Serpent Stacks were far enough offshore that the dragons flying in the airspace above the town looked tiny, and they were certainly far away enough that no one in the town would be able to hear them. In fact, the two young dragons were probably far away enough their they would be hard to even see, which gave Pyxis another idea.

Folding her wings shut, she leaned towards Nerlin and licked the side of his snout. Then when he turned towards her, Pyxis licked his neck instead. "Hey Nerlin, want to do something fun?" she asked.

"Hmm? What? Ooh!" Nerlin made a surprised noise as Pyxis reached her paw over and started groping his underbelly. With a motion that was becoming nice and familiar, Pyxis used her paw to rub Nerlin's genital slit, pressing on the tense muscles there. "Here? But we're in the open!" Nerlin said, though he sounded more excited than worried, and he made no actual move to stop Pyxis.

Pyxis paused and glanced around. This was definitely a bold thing for her to do, but she felt no shame. "We're far enough offshore! Keep a lookout and let me know if anyone else is flying over from Maringe." Disentwining her tail from Nerlin's, she went over and crouched down in front of him. They'd been sitting facing out to sea, so Nerlin's body was now directly in between her and the mainland.

Then instead of just using her paw, Pyxis darted her head forward and licked at Nerlin's genital slit to try and coax out his erection. Much to her delight, it took just seconds for her to be successful. Nerlin's phallus began to engorge with blood, and its pinkish tip pushed out from between the small, red-coloured scales of his underbelly. Pyxis wasted no time with licking that too.

Even with the wind blowing and the smell of the ocean, Pyxis could smell a slight odour coming from Nerlin. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was something she'd smelled while they'd been mating and touching each other. The smell of his genital slit was similar to that faint, unique scent which clung to his scales all the time, yet amplified to become almost musky.

Pyxis had little idea whether she was doing this correctly. She knew the general idea behind what she was trying to do--stimulate Nerlin using her mouth--but the specifics and the proper approach were all unknown. She licked at his erection, tasting that rapidly growing length of masculine flesh. Nerlin's phallus didn't have any particular taste, but it felt very naughty to lick at his genitals, and Pyxis felt her neck frill perking all the way up.

Mere seconds later, Nerlin was fully erect, with his penis jutting all the way out of his genital slit. Pyxis stopped for a moment to admire that impressive length of reproductive organ that was staring her right in the face. That's almost intimidating! But then that's what I thought before I managed to fit that inside my slit, and that worked out fine. I wonder if it'll all fit into my mouth? It just looks so big. Hmm...

Pyxis tentatively stuck out her tongue and licked the tip of Nerlin's erection, where a bead of his pre-ejaculate was starting to leak out. That drop of liquid tasted faintly salty and slick, but otherwise neutral. Pyxis pulled back, and then she glanced upwards.

Nerlin was watching her with a very wide-eyed look.

"You're supposed to be keeping a lookout," Pyxis told him.

Nerlin briefly glanced around, then he returned his gaze to Pyxis. "Uh, there's still no one around. And you can't just expect me not to look while you're doing that."

"That is true. If I had a penis, I imagine I'd like to watch while other people were doing things to it," Pyxis muttered. Some of her earlier confidence felt like it was slipping, but not all of it just yet. Before embarrassment could take hold she decided to take action. She hesitated once, then opened her mouth and took the tip of Nerlin's penis into her jaws. It just sat on her tongue, feeling warm and phallic.

Then Pyxis glanced up again, and she snorted with laughter on seeing the way Nerlin was looking at her. Just the thought of how she must look, crouched down in front of him with her mouth over the end of his erection--that was enough to make her giggle. "Pffft! Hehehe. Sorry. I'm trying to be all sexy and seductive, but I don't think I have it in me."

"You seem plenty sexy to me," Nerlin replied, and his visible arousal did help Pyxis feel a bit more confident with herself. She used a paw to grasp Nerlin's erection right around the base near his uninflated knot, and then she guided it back into her mouth. Letting it slide along her tongue, more and more of his erection went into his mouth until Pyxis realized that she was almost at his knot. The majority of his erection was now in her snout.

Pyxis paused again to contemplate the situation. Nerlin's penis felt far bigger than any singular food item she'd ever tried to eat, though of course there was to be no chewing or biting on this particular treat. Without even thinking about it, her tongue wandered around and started exploring that length of phallic flesh now intruding into her mouth. Moving forward again, Pyxis tried to get Nerlin's full erection into her snout, and he winced slightly when her teeth accidently brushed against the bulge of his knot. "Your teeth are... That's not a great feeling when your teeth scrape like that," Nerlin said.

"Sorry," Pyxis said, or tried to say, because it wasn't very easy to talk with Nerlin's erection in her mouth. She opened her jaws further, especially making sure that her teeth weren't pressing down on his length. Then she took him all the way in and then... Now what?

From reading certain magazines and overhearing conversations with some of her friends (such as Caden), Pyxis was vaguely aware that oral sex would probably require her to bob her head and stimulate Nerlin's penis in motions similar to those they'd used while mating, or possibly do something with her tongue. However, unlike mating, this wasn't intuitive or natural to do at all. She made a few hesitant up and down movements, then again she stopped and glanced up at Nerlin.

"Is this...? Is this right?" Pyxis asked. Her voice was muffled by that big length of male flesh filling up her mouth.

"I think so? I'm not sure, but it does feel good," Nerlin replied. "Especially your tongue--yeah, that's nice."

Pyxis started moving her tongue about, repeatedly flicking and running it against Nerlin's penis. He seemed to take up so much space inside her mouth as she suckled on that length of sensitive, exposed flesh. Nerlin moaned softly as Pyxis used her tongue to lick right on his knot, and she focused her attention there to try and make him repeat that sound. Nerlin had previously mentioned his knot was sensitive, so that was the place to touch if she wanted to give him the most pleasure.

Pyxis began slowly bobbing her head up and down, which made her necklace bounce against her chest. She tried using a paw to rub right on the side of Nerlin's genital slit to try and pleasure him even further. His whole penis was now slick with her saliva, and she could taste his pre-ejaculate leaking out onto her tongue. Glancing up, it made her feel strangely empowered to see Nerlin's attention to utterly focused on her, and to hear his faint moans of pleasure. She was the one doing that and making him feel that way.

"Oh. Ooh, that feels amazing... Uh, do you want me to try licking you too?" Nerlin asked. "Maybe you could try curling your hips around, or something."

Pulling her head off Nerlin's erection, Pyxis looked up at him again. "No, don't you distract me. You just keep a lookout." And then she got back to work, trying to use her mouth to pleasure her partner.

In a short time, perhaps just a couple of minutes, Pyxis could feel Nerlin's penis getting stiffer and stiffer, and his knot was starting to enlarge slightly. Nerlin's pants were getting louder, and he had stopped paying attention to anything else except her. He was getting more and more aroused, which meant that she was at least doing something right--Pyxis had been somewhat concerned that her attempts at pleasuring Nerlin might be so terrible that he would find the whole thing off-putting. Apparently her concern had been unwarranted. If her previous experience was anything to learn from, then he'd soon be hitting a climax.

Pyxis wondered how she'd handle that dramatic event. Was she going to have Nerlin release his seed right into her mouth? After seeing how much he could shoot, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle it all. Or perhaps she could pull back and have him spray her snout and face with all his fluids. That was something Pyxis had also heard about, but it seemed like a rather messy (but sexy?) act.

"Are you getting close?" she asked, pulling back slightly so that only the top half of Nerlin's erection was in her mouth.

"Yes..." Nerlin admitted. He put a paw on her shoulder, not applying any pressure to move her forward and back, but just touching her and fondly rubbing her neck.

"Ok. So how are we doing this? Do you want to do it in my mouth, or should I pull out and let you go all over my face or on the ground or...?" Pyxis asked.

"Up to you? I don't know if... This will probably be messy either way," Nerlin replied.

"Fair enough," Pyxis agreed. In her mind, it seemed sexier if she just kept sucking Nerlin through his orgasm even as he released his seed, instead of pulling back and suddenly trying to switch to her paws. Then again, she had no experience with this sort of activity at all, but maybe in the future they'd both figure out what was the best way to do things.

Then she kept going, suckling Nerlin's whole erection with her mouth and trying to rub her tongue especially along his knot to coax an orgasm out of her partner. Her efforts were soon rewarded when Nerlin let out a sudden gasp. "Ahh! Pyxis, it's about to happen..." he moaned.

"Mmhh." Pyxis kept going, eager to push Nerlin all the way over the edge of orgasm. His knot quickly began to bloat up and press against her teeth, but Pyxis had a burst of quick thinking. She wrapped the tip of her tongue entirely around Nerlin's knot, encircling that sensitive, rapidly expanding bulb of erect flesh to keep it fully shielded from the sharp points of her teeth. As Nerlin's knot swelled up, Pyxis applied pressure on it by gently biting down, keeping her the muscle of her tongue directly in between her teeth and Nerlin's penis.

"Ooh...! Ahh!" Nerlin moaned, making incoherent sounds which faintly amused Pyxis. She would have grinned, but her mouth was busy at the moment. Her neck frill snapped up to fully raised. He's going to ejaculate! Right into my mouth! I hope I don't choke. Hmm, I wonder what it'll taste--

Then before Pyxis could wonder any further, Nerlin's penis twitched and fired a burst of warm salty liquid right into her snout. Pyxis almost changed her mind and tried to pull off, but she stopped herself and kept still instead, letting Nerlin empty out all his stored lust. She could feel his phallus throbbing rhythmically, and his tail twitched to that same reflexive beat.

Pulse after pulse spurted into Pyxis's mouth, first pooling onto her tongue, then quickly filling up her mouth. It wasn't really that Nerlin was releasing that much semen (though there was a considerable amount), but it was the angle of Pyxis's head and her jaws being open which meant that semen was soon leaking out of her open jaws. She didn't even try to swallow, just letting it all drip out of her mouth instead. It's dribbling down my chin. Wow. At least I didn't choke or gag. Wow, there's so much.

Nerlin's eyes had gone half-lidded, and his whole body was stiff. When his orgasm finally tapered off, his eyes snapped back into focus and he made eye contact with Pyxis again. The two young dragons just stared for a moment, then Nerlin hurriedly raised his head and glanced around, before glancing down at Pyxis again.

Neither of them said anything, until Nerlin slowly moved his paw from Pyxis's shoulder and patted her on the head, ruffling her still-raised neck frill. This was such a silly, awkward gesture that both young dragons simultaneously burst into laughter. "Hehe, I can't believe we just did that," Nerlin said.

Pyxis drew back and let Nerlin's penis drop out of her mouth, then she started giggling and just couldn't stop. "Hehehe...! Yes! I did it! Yes! Hahahah!" She kept laughing, and for some reason she couldn't stop. There wasn't anything really funny, but the whole scenario just seemed ridiculous. "We're on the Sea Serpent Stacks, and I just sucked your stack! Hahahaha..."

"That was amazing. Sorry, I made a mess of your mouth," Nerlin said. He leaned down and licked at Pyxis's snout.

Straightening herself up, Pyxis raised her chin and let Nerlin lick her clean. "Hehe, you just licked your own seed! That's so weird! Ahaha..." Opening and closing her jaws a few times, Pyxis could clearly still taste Nerlin in her mouth. Previously she had tried sniffing his semen after rubbing him off, but she'd never tasted it before.

Nerlin's seed had a sweet smell, yet it tasted nothing like how it smelt. It had a viscous, slightly sticky texture and although it did have a faintly sweet taste, that was mostly overwhelmed by a salty, mineral flavour almost like seawater. Vaguely Pyxis recalled that a drake's semen contained not just genetic material, but also various nutrients that would be important for egg formation. Perhaps that was why it tasted like a weird mix of too many flavours thrown together. It was a unique taste that wasn't really pleasant, but Pyxis didn't think it would dissuade her from trying it again in the future. She reached for her flight harness's shoulder strap and unclipped the water tube to take a sip, washing that taste from her mouth.

Nerlin finished licking Pyxis's chin and neck clean, then he gave her one last affectionate lick right on her snout. Pyxis quickly acted to convert this into a proper kiss, and the two young dragons let their muzzles meet, touching their tongues against each other in an intimate gesture. "Mmh. Your turn now? Want me to return the favour?" Nerlin asked.

"Hmm..." Based off their quick exploration this morning, Pyxis guessed that she would need to lie on her back for Nerlin to lick her slit properly, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to lie down on the hard, weathered rock. Throughout this whole time sucking Nerlin off, her arousal had felt different than usual--not like a direct, warm, wet need in her underbelly, but like a deep desire that ran throughout her whole body. She'd didn't just want physical pleasure, she wanted the satisfaction and comfort from a shared intimate experience. "No need. It's not anything owed. You can do me later," Pyxis decided.

"I'd love to do you. Now or later," Nerlin muttered, looking at her in a way which made Pyxis shudder.

She leaned against him, letting her head rest against his. It was just the two of them, all alone together, standing out here on this rock pillar in the ocean. "This is just great. I didn't know I could feel this way. I've always had friends, and closer friends, but this is more than even that. I could just hug you forever," Pyxis murmured, unfurling her wings to wrap them around Nerlin's body. They were both sitting back on their haunches, facing each other chest to chest.

"It's so nice," Nerlin agreed. He was smiling faintly, and that made Pyxis feel incredibly happy.

But the moment couldn't last forever. Nerlin glanced to the side, and Pyxis also saw what he'd seen--a trio of dragons was flying out from the direction of Maringe, clearly headed out to sea and towards this lookout point.

"Are we ready to continue the expedition? One last flight, and then we're home," Nerlin said.

Pyxis looked to the sky. The sun was obscured by white fluffy clouds, but it was approximately late enough in the morning that they could begin their journey. She nodded her head. "Let's fly."

With the wind to their tails, the two young dragons flew eastwards back towards Maringe, then continued further inland. Now that they were in the central flyways, they made quick progress with the wind pushing them along.

Nerlin would occasionally take out his expedition map to keep track of their location, although now that they were on the last bit of their flight they didn't need to rely on maps so heavily. Instead they could just follow their internal compasses, flying towards that slight deviation in the magnetic field caused by the City of Wings' gradual flight through the air. Home was calling.

As they continued to fly, Nerlin found himself engrossed by the simple rhythm of beating his wings. With the sun out and the sky relatively clear, they were able to save energy by soaring. This was a straightforward, if complex process--first they had to find a thermal updraft and circle repeatedly to gain altitude from the rising warm air, then they could use that increased height to glide for a long distance until they reached the next thermal. The real challenge was figuring out where thermals would form, based off terrain which might heat the air and cause it to rise.

Nerlin continued to chat with Pyxis as they flew. They discussed everything that came to mind--scenery, the future, how their other friends' survival expeditions must have gone, and much more. As the hours ticked by, the land swept past far below. They passed lakes, hills, towns, farms, rivers, and landmark after landmark, making their way home.

After having had a filling breakfast in the morning, the two dragons didn't bother to stop for lunch. They still had plenty of ration bars, and though these weren't very tasty, these did provide enough sustenance to stave off any feelings of hunger while also being easy to eat while in flight.

As they flew over a large cloud formation, Nerlin briefly dived and dipped into the cloud. The tiny suspended water droplets made the air feel cool and thick like fog. Nerlin opened his mouth as he flew through the cloud, but this hardly did more than wet his mouth slightly. It certainly wasn't enough for a good drink.

Nerlin climbed back out of the cloud and went to resume formation with Pyxis, who was still flying straight and level. The tips of his wings briefly left behind curling vapour trails as he swept out of the moist air and back into the clear. Instead of simply trying to follow after Pyxis and catch up to her, Nerlin flapped his wings hard to pick up speed. He swept past Pyxis while flying below her, then suddenly climbed sharply and just in front of her. "Watch your front!" Nerlin called playfully.

Pyxis instinctively swerved to avoid a collision, though Nerlin had already been careful to make sure they weren't too close. "Oh! You watch your front!" Pyxis retorted. "Or watch your back. Or whatever!" Opening her jaws, she spat a burst of frostbreath towards him.

Nerlin made a sharp evasive manoeuvre, dodging to the side and avoiding that blast of chilly, cloudy air. "You missed!"

"Hmf! I wasn't trying. It would be a waste of my magic to hit you, and childish too!" Pyxis rocked her wings from side to side playfully, then she resumed flying straight and level.

Nerlin dropped down and took up position flying just off Pyxis's left wingtip, which was when she hit him properly with her frostbreath. The super chilled air stung his scales, and the billowing condensation briefly obstructed his vision. "Ahh, hey! That's cheating. You said it was childish! Who's childish now?" Nerlin retorted.

As his vision cleared, he saw Pyxis turning into a roll, flying towards him. She was trying to make him swerve just like he'd done to her, but Nerlin rolled in the opposite direction and turned inwards. The two young dragons spun and whirled around, cutting left and right as they chased each other.

As they flew together, Nerlin revelled in the simple joy of flight. It wasn't effortless or easy--in fact, it took deliberate effort and skill to manoeuvre through the air, and that made it all the more liberating. As the two young dragons playfully danced across the sky, Nerlin found it exhilarating to spread his wings and fly with Pyxis. She wasn't quite as fast or agile as he was, but she wasn't a weak flyer either.

The two of them kept trying to outdo the other--diving or climbing, spinning or turning, deliberately stalling only to roll into a spin. Eventually Nerlin did one last vertical loop, and when Pyxis tried to copy his aerobatic manoeuvre, she ran out of speed and just dropped back down without managing to complete the loop.

Pyxis straightened out into steady flight again, holding her altitude and speed steady. "Ok! Ok, you win this one... Whoo! Yeah. My wings are tried. Huh... ho..." She was panting as she caught her breath.

Nerlin flew adjacent to Pyxis and matched his wingbeats with hers. Though all this showy flying hadn't been easy for him, he wasn't as out of breath as Pyxis was. "Nice flying." Nerlin took the drinking tube of his water pack and stuck it in his mouth, then he used a paw and pressed down on the harness bag which held his water pack, forcing liquid through the tube and into his jaws.

Pyxis did the same, both of them taking sips of water as they resumed their steady flight. Taking up their heading again, they continued flying east and slightly northwards as they closed the distance back to the city. Consulting his map briefly, Nerlin estimated that they were right on schedule.

Navigation was always a complex matter. It wasn't simply about knowing your location and your destination, then plotting a straight line between the two. Flying with a tailwind could greatly speed up their journey even if it required flying a slightly longer route. And to make things even more difficult, their end destination (Avaeria, the City of Wings) wasn't a fixed location and it had its own flight path, slowly powering its way through the air.

Nevertheless, Nerlin was reasonably certain about where they were and where the city was. It was early afternoon, and they were likely to arrive back in Avaeria just before sundown, assuming no delays. "We're making good time."

Taking out her own map, Pyxis made quick glances down at it, alternating between watching her flight and staring at her map. "Our path takes us near to Diracore Quarry, doesn't it? I can see it on the map."

Nerlin looked down at his own map. He had to keep part of his attention focused on flying straight, and he also had to deal with the wind buffeting the stiff, waxy paper of his map. At least it was clipped by string to his flight harness, so he didn't have to worry about dropping it. "Diracore Quarry? Oh, yes. I see it. You said that you've been there before? Is it worth visiting?"

Pyxis made an indifferent noise. "Uhh, Diracore is very different from Maringe or Lake Tris. It's a lot bigger, but it's a mining facility, not a trading town. There are things to see, but we can see most of them from the air. No need to land there and visit. You'll see what I mean when we fly past."

"Alright," Nerlin replied.

And they kept on flying, their wings beating steadily. The afternoon sun was intermittently blocked by clouds, but the weather was good for flying. It wasn't dangerous and stormy, but it wasn't totally clear. They dodged around a few cloud systems which might have held turbulence, as they continued the final portion of their expedition together.

Come a few hours later, Nerlin noticed something strange in the distance. Where before there had been the greens of grass and the browns of woody forested vegetation, the land up ahead was a darker brown or greyish colour. Nerlin used his farsight to peer at this curiosity. But the closer they got, the more abnormal it seemed.

He and Pyxis were flying at a high altitude, which meant that even the powerful eyes of dragons couldn't quite make out the minute details of the land, especially at such great distance. If they had been at a lower altitude then such an anomaly might have been explainable as a rocky outcrop where soil had been eroded away to reveal bedrock, but what was truly unusual was the scale of this discolouration.

Just as unusual was the regularity. Abruptly the natural hills seemed to stop, replaced by large regular discolorations of grey and brown. "What's that up ahead? Pyxis, just ahead to the north--are you seeing that? What is that?" Nerlin asked, almost baffled by this sight. His first guess was that he was looking at a mirage or some sort of optical phenomena over a lake. The land just looked too regular and too discoloured to be natural.

Unlike him, Pyxis showed no signs of surprise. "That? That's Diracore."

"That's Diracore? But it's so... big!" Nerlin said.

"What else did you expect to see?"

"I was thinking it would be just a normal town, with a few holes in the ground leading to underground mineshafts. Something like that. That's... that's Diracore? All that?" Nerlin exclaimed, completely in awe of what he was looking at.

As they got closer, the grey or brown discolorations were revealed to immense holes dug out of the ground, where soil and countless layers of rock had been stripped away. Nerlin saw movement in the air over those far away quarries--at first he thought he was seeing dragons flying over the pits, but then he realized he was looking at entire airships which were still dwarfed by the massive scale of the excavation. To call those quarries "pits" or "holes" was simply inadequate to describe their size. They were more like artificial valleys or canyons which had been carved out of the ground.

Dozens, or even hundreds of houses could easily have fit into one of these quarries, and they just kept going on. Quarry after quarry, stretching on as far as the eye could see. Even as they approached Diracore, Nerlin still couldn't see where the quarries ended.

"How is that even possible? All that is Diracore Quarry?" Nerlin asked, his jaw half dropped in shock.

"Yes? Why are you so surprised?" Pyxis replied. "Don't you know Diracore is the biggest of the Outer Colonies? I'm pretty sure that fact was mentioned even in basic history class."

"Yeah, but Maringe is the second biggest Outer Colony, and it wasn't anywhere near that big! Just... look at all that! You could fly right to the middle of Diracore, and all you'd be able to see was quarries for leagues and leagues all around you!" Nerlin was simply dumbfounded, feeling a sense of awe which was on the same level as the shock he'd received on first seeing the Julnir Mountains; but the mountains had been immense natural beauty, whereas Diracore was all artificial. On this vast, almost unbelievable scale, dragons had transformed the land in their search for rocks, minerals, and other resources to build their civilization.

Pyxis looked amused by how awestruck Nerlin was, and they both slowed down as they approached the settlement. "We can't overfly Diracore, it's controlled airspace. If we try to get to close to the pits we'll be intercepted by an enforcer patrol," she said.

"Oh... Whoa...!" Nerlin was lost for words. Even as they changed course to fly around all the mining pits, the size of the operation stunned his mind. Some of the pits were empty, but others were filled with dragons hard at work. From such a distance they looked just like ants, and the stone magic they were using just looked like small flashes of light.

"So you see what I meant when I said there's things to see at Diracore, but nothing you need to get up close to see?" Pyxis said.

"This whole place is bigger than Avaeria!" Nerlin exclaimed.

"Of course it is. Where do you think the city was built? Diracore was the ancestral drakken capital, and before Avaeria flew, it was built here in Diracore. Everything from the supporting structure, to the propulsion systems, and even the central power core. All built here, piece by piece. Diracore is the cradle of civilization."

"In basic history class they said Diracore was big, but then never said it was this big. Maybe I shouldn't have dropped advanced history for music class..." Nerlin muttered.

"I didn't drop history. Want a quick history lesson?" Pyxis said.

"Ok. Tell me about this place," Nerlin said.

Pyxis slowed her wingbeats, and their lessened airspeed reduced the noise of the wind, making speaking easier. "A long, long, long time ago, most dragons lived as roaming tribes (clans) who never had a permanent home. Those who did have proper homes were living in caves deep underground or in the mountains."

"Because of the storms," Nerlin said.

"Exactly. This part of the world, where all dragons live, is different from the deserts of the dwarfs, or the jungles where the centaurs live, or whatever. For those other civilizations, a single ion storm would be a catastrophe, but for us that's just business as usual. That storm we sat out in the lighthouse? It's a baby compared to a proper cyclonic ion storm. Those storms roll in from the Glassy Sea with such powerful winds and lightning that they destroy everything. Humans, dwarfs, and all the other sapient species--their settlements would be wiped out by the ion storms if they tried to live here, but we can just fly out of the way of storms. Ok, I suppose griffins might be able to fly out of the way too, but they don't count. Griffins don't do anything. They're too lazy to be always roaming, unlike us."

"Anyway, roughly at the same time, a group of three dragons made separate inventions which literally started our civilization as we know it. I'm trying to remember their names... uh..." Pyxis paused for a moment. "What were their names? I memorized them for last year's exam. Think, think. I wrote a whole essay, but my brain's already deleted their names."

Nerlin hadn't taken advanced history class, but from just the basic class he already knew some of the answer. "They were from three of the five big clans--Dirak, Mintaka, and Taslin, correct?"

"Yes. Dirak is Lin Dirak, which I remember because she's the founder for Dirak clan. Used to be from a clan called Ridak, but there was some falling out so she just decided to make her own clan, apparently. What were the other two names? I can't remember... There was a Mintaka, and a Taslin."

"Sundia Taslin?" Nerlin suggested.

"Yes, that's it! How did you know that? You remembered that from basic history class all those years ago?" Pyxis asked.

"No. There's a little story behind that. You finish your story first, and I'll tell you afterwards."

"Fine. So we've got three important historical inventors--Lin Dirak, Sundia Taslin, and some other Mintaka person. What was his name?"

"North Mintaka?" Nerlin suggested.

"North Mintaka is the current Mintaka primary wingleader. He's old, but nowhere close to older than the city," Pyxis replied.

Nerlin grinned. "Jarzyl Mintaka?"

"I doubt that very much. It was some weird name which had two parts...? I got it! Atus-Du Mintaka. He was the engineer who built storm shields all those generations ago. The idea being that it's this...shield of magic and power which can deflect the powerful lightning bolts from ion storms, effectively protecting a settlement from the damage of an ion storm. So Mintaka created the storm shields, and Taslin had been building airships for a few decades. Back in those days, airships were just novelties because they constantly needed a frostbreather to keep the propulsion thrusters cold, and a sparkcaster to stabilize the electric power being run through them. But then..."

Nerlin bobbed his head, glancing at Pyxis. "Yes?"

"Both Mintaka and Taslin were looking at different ways to improve drakken settlements. Mintaka was going to use a shield to protect them from the storms, while Taslin envisioned her airships being used to help a settlement relocate out of the way of a storm. But then Dirak came up with a third invention which unified everything together. She created the crystalline power core--a means of storing energy in the lattices of a huge artificial crystal, which meant that when lightning struck one of Mintaka's storm shields, instead of the energy needing to be dissipated away as heat and light, it could be stored to do useful things. She also created the skybreaker cannon, but that's just a related crystalline structure."

"I think I know the rest of the story from here," Nerlin said. "So Mintaka puts a storm shield on one of Taslin's airships, and Dirak has a power core inside to store energy."

"Exactly!" Pyxis replied. "Do you get how amazing that is? Inside of running away from storms, dragons turned that destructive power into work, and that work powered this entire era of development. That's the whole point of Avaeria! The city doesn't chase storms because it needs to fly, it flies because it needs to chase storms."

"Wait, what's the difference? Isn't that the same thing?" Nerlin asked.

"Not at all. Just think about it--everything in Avaeria is powered by the central magical grid. The propulsion systems and the storm shields, yes, but also the lights, the beacons for the displacer transit network, the lightfield projectors, the factories, and everything. All made possible because of the vast energy which the city harvests from ion storms." Pyxis rolled to the left, briefly taking them closer towards the immense quarries of Diracore. "And right here in this place, the City of Wings first took flight. This is where civilization literally took off! Many, many centuries ago, we made the leap from living in caves and running from storms, to chasing storms and living in the clouds."

Nerlin was quiet for a moment. Looking over at the immense spread of mines and quarries that was Diracore, it shook him to think of all the history and advancement that had occurred here. "Ok, I'm alright with not having studied history now. Thinking about what happened so long ago, how it changed everything--that's so epic. It makes me feel...bleak and existential."

"What? Existential?" Pyxis asked, sounding surprised. "But shouldn't thinking about this be inspiring? Dragons did so much. We've come so far! We have a city that flies, while the other races just live in mud and wage wars with each other in their far off, uncivilized places. Doesn't that make you feel uplifted?"

"Not really. It makes me feel small. I'm not a genius inventor, or a great scientist, or some incredible businessperson. I'm just...some random dragon."

"Oh." Pyxis was quiet for a moment, then she sped up her wingbeats and then continued to head eastwards, flying around the massive settlement of Diracore. "Well you aren't a great person yet, but in the future maybe you'll do something world changing."

Nerlin flapped his wings faster to match Pyxis's speed. "But that's the thing--future or not, what if I don't_change the world? And let's be honest, I'm not going to change the world or create my own clan. I'm just _me. And I'm happy with that. I enjoy the simple things--eating a good meal, playing a fun game of skyball, snuggling against someone I love, or just flying high and seeing everything. That's the meaning of life to me."

"Fair enough. I think everyone enjoys those things," Pyxis agreed.

The two young dragons continued to fly on, passing by Diracore quarry. Instead of just the massive pits, there were also massive artificial mounds of unwanted material which had been dug out of the ground, and huge, sprawling industrial-looking buildings for mineral processing and refinement with tall chimneys pumping out white smoke. Vast spherical structures also sat beside the factories and Pyxis explained that these were silos for needlemir, a type of mineral which was mined from the quarries and would be refined into the magical crystals, power cores of airships, and even gemstones like the one in her necklace.

Even without actually entering the settlement, Nerlin could easily see the airships moving to and fro the quarries, transporting minerals and rock. At regular intervals, tall metal spires rose up into the air--these were storm shield emitters similar to those back in Avaeria, though they currently sat idle as the weather was clear.

Another part of Diracore was simply a massive open area where dozens and dozens of airships were parked in neat lines, their angular metal hulls gleaming in the sun as they waited to be loaded or unloaded. Even as Nerlin and Pyxis watched, a new convoy of airships appeared in the far distance, flying directly in the opposite direction the two young dragons were flying. The craft were probably from Avaeria.

Many minutes later, Nerlin and Pyxis had finally flown around the immense sprawl that was Diracore. Having seen its full extent, Nerlin was quite sure now that the settlement was larger than Avaeria, despite technically just being an Outer Colony which supplied the city with resources.

Pyxis briefly shifted her heading, pointing towards a small cluster of buildings near the north portion of Diracore. "That's the main facility. Diracore is a huge industrial complex and resource extraction settlement, but dragons still need to live here. Housing is there, as is clan headquarters, central logistics planning, and other amenities. We are allowed to fly over there, but it isn't really a tourist place."

"You've been there before?" Nerlin asked. "Why'd you come here?"

"Clan reasons. My clan does work in the ore supply chain, especially the processing here. Once when my mother and father were visiting for a business trip, they took me along." Pyxis nodded, looking slightly proud. "It was interesting! I wouldn't say it was fun, but it was interesting to see how everything worked and to learn about all the things which people back in the city take for granted."

"Sounds serious and business-like. Not my ideal vacation," Nerlin said.

"It wasn't a vacation. More of a vocation--a job," Pyxis replied.

The two of them continued to fly towards the northeast, gradually leaving Diracore behind. As the settlement slowly receded into the distance, Pyxis spoke up again. "So how'd you remember Sundia Taslin's name anyway? You said there was a story there?"

"Not really a story. Or rather, it's the same story I told you this morning," Nerlin said. "Do you know the reason why Sundia Taslin was interested in building airships in the first place? It wasn't just because she wanted to improve the world. She had a personal stake."

"I've heard something about that. It wasn't taught in history class, but I remember reading an encyclopaedia which mentioned something about Taslin's personal motivation... she had some disease, I believe?"

Nerlin chuckled. "She had a hatch defect--fused wings. The exact same hatch defect that affected my sister. Nowadays we can cure it with advanced medical scanning and surgical intervention, but back in the pre-Avaeria times, all those many, many generations ago, fused wings was a curse. A dragon with fused wings would almost never be able to fly, unless they had someone carry them on their backs. I remember reading the story of Sundia Taslin to my sister--she was hatched weak and deformed, but that didn't stop her from changing the world. She set her hearts on flying, and despite all the scepticism in the world, she used magic in a never-before-seen way to build airships that could fly."

"Ah, so that is inspiring, isn't it?" Pyxis said.

"I suppose it is." Nerlin was quiet for one moment, then another thought occurred to him. "By the way, there's one last bit to the story of Sundia Taslin. I read this book by a modern scholar who examined all the old legends and tales about her, and looked at what's truth and what wasn't. There was one particular rumour that debunked."

"Do tell?"

Nerlin grinned slightly, and he looked over at Pyxis. "It was said that Sundia Taslin was so determined to fly because she wanted to properly consummate her mate. Of course, other sources have recorded that Taslin was building airships long before she formally entered into a pair bond, so that's probably just a myth."

"Huh. Consummate? You mean a mating flight?" Pyxis murmured. "Do people actually do that? I've heard about the old traditions that dragons aren't proper mates unless they mated in the air, but I've always assumed that was just an urban legend. Is that even possible?"

"There's one good way to find out. Want to try?" Nerlin suggested.

Pyxis glanced all around, especially back at the now receding sight of Diracore. "Ooh, now that's an idea! But now we're really out in the open, where anyone could see us. Back at Maringe and the Sea Serpent Stacks, at least it just looked like we were standing together, but a mating flight would look pretty obvious."

"That's true. Ok, let me just check..." Nerlin took out his expedition map and glanced at it, checking the distance between Diracore and where he estimated Avaeria was. "We got about four more hours of flying. How about if we manage to find thick cloud cover, we try a mating flight. It's not something we could do in the city, so if we want to try it we've got to do it before we finish the expedition."

"Hmm. Now you've made me curious, and a little bit aroused," Pyxis murmured.

The sky was currently mostly clear with only a few small clouds visible, but with how much distance they were covering, it was difficult to predict the weather they would encounter. Though a fierce storm was unlikely, it was possible they might find thick, dense clouds, or they might also just have clear skies all the way back to the city.

For the next few hours it was all smooth flying, with hardly any clouds visible. Nerlin didn't think he had ever been so disappointed by clear weather. But then just as the afternoon was getting late, they came across a diffuse layer of thin clouds that filled the whole sky at low altitude, partially obscuring the land. "Does this count as cloud cover?" Pyxis asked. "Because the more I think about it, the more I feel like trying that mating flight."

Nerlin glanced around. It was now evening and he suspected that the City of Wings was no more than an hour's flight away. Yet although they were now deep in drakken-controlled territory, there were no other dragons in sight. The population was heavily concentrated in Avaeria, and to a lesser extent other Outer Colony population centres like Maringe Harbour or Diracore Quarry. "It's good enough for me, if you're game for it?"

"Yes!" Pyxis flapped her wings, briefly picking up speed. "I don't know if this will work, but now I'm really curious to find out! Ok. So how do we do this?"

Nerlin was curious too. "We'll probably need some altitude to manoeuvre, but I think we're high enough. Maybe I just..." Slowing down, he moved to a position in the air just above but behind Pyxis, trailing in her wake.

Pyxis glanced behind to watch him. "Should I go into a glide? Would my wing flapping be interfering?"

"I don't know. Probably?" Nerlin admitted, and he chuckled. "Haha, this is fun. Ok, let's try this. Just fly straight and go into a glide." He beat his wings harder to approach Pyxis from behind, and then he tried to reach out for her. Normal formation flying involved maintaining a safe separation away from another dragon, but here he was deliberately violating that rule.

Nerlin's chest gently bumped into Pyxis's back and then the two of them were just flying together, touching each other with wings open and gliding. "Ok... Careful..." Pyxis said. She was looking forward and focusing on flying straight, while Nerlin tried to manoeuvre around her and align himself. He had imagined trying to mount Pyxis from behind in a way similar to how they'd mated in the morning, but it quickly became clear that this was much more difficult then he'd first envisioned.

The simple problem was that his underbelly was above Pyxis's lower back and nowhere near her underbelly or genital slit. "I can't... Your underbelly is way too low. Try and raise your hips and tail, like you did this morning."

"Uh..." Pyxis tried to move her body, but this briefly put them into a shallow dive before she managed to recover. "Without my legs on the ground, I have no leverage to raise my tail."

"Ok, hold still then. Let me try and see if I can make something happen." Nerlin adjusted the grip of his paws to carefully hold onto Pyxis's body behind her wings, and he shifted backwards and curled himself around to try and get their genital slits lined up. Despite his best attempts, this proved to be impossible. He wasn't even erect yet, but already it was obvious that this wasn't working. He couldn't get their underbellies lined up at all.

A dragon's wings were their main source of lift, but their tail was also a crucial counterbalance that helped them steer in flight. If Nerlin tried to lower his tail and curl the lower part of his body around Pyxis, this pushed his tail down and messed with the tilt of his wings, which affected his flight and pushed the rest of his body away from Pyxis.

"Uh, is it working?" Pyxis asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"It's not working. Your hips are too low, and I can't curl my own hips underneath your body cause the angle of my wings is pulling me away." Nerlin checked their altitude and found that they had plenty of height to spare. "I'm going to try something else. Let me know if I'm hurting you."

Half folding in his wings, Nerlin let more of his weight drop down onto Pyxis's back. "Ooh! Ok," Pyxis said. Now instead of the two young dragons flying in close formation, Nerlin was essentially just riding on Pyxis and letting her carry his weight. With half the lift as before, they started to descend more rapidly, but there was still plenty of altitude and time. Nerlin once again tried to curl his hips around and line up his underbelly with Pyxis's, but the airflow kept pushing him away. Her body was in a streamlined position, yet his was not, so the force of the rushing air was against him.

"This is actually much harder than I realized. " Nerlin threw open his wings and pulled upwards, separating himself from Pyxis smoothly. It was so easy to manoeuvre through the air, yet things were so much more difficult when he tried to line things up for a mating flight. "Are we doing this wrong?"

Pyxis contorted her body as she tried to imagine what Nerlin had been doing. "Hmm, I think I understand the issue. Maybe we should be doing this belly to belly?"

Beating his wings hard, Nerlin started to climb and regain the altitude they'd lost in this first attempt. "That seems more plausible. Ok, let's try that. We get some altitude first, then you try inverting yourself and we go belly to belly."

After a minute of steady climbing, Nerlin and Pyxis levelled off. This time Nerlin was the one who flew steady and level, while Pyxis moved around him and tried to get things aligned. "How do I...? So we grab each other's paws?" Pyxis asked.

"Yeah! Just don't scratch me," Nerlin replied.

"Ok. In three, two, one...!" Pyxis did a aileron roll, spinning herself around. At the same time she tried to climb up and reach out her paws to grab his, but she didn't manage to come close.

"Do you know how to fly inverted?" Nerlin asked. "That might be easier than doing a roll and a climb at the same time."

"Uh, no I don't. I was never the best in flight school," Pyxis admitted. "Let me try again. Three, two one!"

Pyxis was still flying below Nerlin, and she flapped her wings to climb before spinning herself around. This time one of her paws managed to brush against Nerlin's, but they slipped past without catching hold.

"That was closer," Nerlin said.

Pyxis flapped her wings to stabilize here flight. "We're getting there! We're doing this! Oh, this is tiring... Third time does it! Three, two, one!" She tried the same aerobatic manoeuvre again, and this time they had even greater success. Pyxis's chest and underbelly actually bumped against Nerlin's, but their paws still slipped past each other without catching hold. "Catch me, catch me! Aww..." Pyxis dropped away again and rolled back to normal.

"Maybe you could try to grab onto to the straps of my flight harness, if that's easier?" Nerlin suggested. This wasn't quite what a flight harness was intended to do, but the straps were probably sturdy enough to withstand the strain.

"Let's try that. And again--three, two, one..." Pyxis climbed from underneath Nerlin and flipped herself around, and this time--finally this time--things worked as hoped. Nerlin felt Pyxis bump up against him, and all four of her paws scrabbled at his chest and torso before managing to grab onto his flight harness.

Pyxis's left forepaw held onto the right underwing strap of Nerlin's flight harness, while her right forepaw grabbed onto his left paw. One of her hindpaws managed to catch on to his rear lower strap, while her other hindpaw just slipped against his scales. "Whoa, whoa! Ok!" Pyxis used the leverage of her other three paws to steady herself and get a grip with that last paw, so now she was now clutching onto Nerlin, flying inverted with her wings still open. Her tail curled around Nerlin's, partially entwining and pulling them closer together.

It took a few moments for both of them to get used to this new position. Even with Pyxis's wings open, she wasn't able to produce as much lift because she was flying upside down, which meant that Nerlin was now carrying more weight on his wings. He could have tried to flap his wings hard to hold altitude, but that might make Pyxis loose her grip, so he held steady. They did begin to descend faster, but there was some time before they would need to worry about the ground. "So... we finally did it."

"Not yet. We haven't actually mated yet," Pyxis replied. She shifted about, and Nerlin felt her rubbing her underbelly against his. "Are you erect yet? I can't see what's going on back there."

The excitement of trying to get into the proper position had distracted Nerlin, but now he relaxed the muscles of his underbelly and gave in to the sensation of Pyxis pressing her groin against his.

Pyxis carefully adjusted her grip so that instead of clutching onto Nerlin's flight harness, her forepaws went behind his neck and her hindpaws were around his lower body near his tail base. Now it was like they were in a very tight hug, except with wings open and parallel, and while in flight. Nerlin also used his paws to hug her, clutching her close and helped her to hold on.

It was hard to see down between their bodies, but Pyxis could feel Nerlin's erection brushing against her underside, not quite aligned with where it needed to go. After a few long moments of anticipation, she managed to get the tip of his erection against her genital slit. Then using the leverage of their entwined tails, Pyxis pushed her hips upwards (downwards from her perspective), and Nerlin's penis slid into her genital slit.

"I got it in!" Pyxis shouted excitedly. "We have achieved...penetration! Yay!"

"I noticed, yes," Nerlin replied. "Haha, yay."

"Woo hoo! This is amazing!" Pyxis could feel both of her hearts beating hard, setting her pulse to a rapid staccato. Partially it was from the strain of having to hold onto Nerlin as she flew inverted, but mostly it was from the grand excitement of what they were doing. The thrill of flight combined with the intimate, primal pleasure of sex, and they'd only just gotten started.

It wasn't easy to thrust. Pyxis was worried that pulling back too far would make Nerlin's penis slip out of her, so she kept her hip thrusts fairly deep. To add to the complexity of this whole activity, she was flying upside down and holding herself against Nerlin, and the wind made things difficult. Even the slightest bit of instability in the air would make them both shift slightly--normally this wouldn't matter, but with both of the young dragons having their wings open and close to each other, a bit of turbulence was hard to correct against in unison.

In the end, Pyxis wasn't able to establish a steady rhythm. Her thrusts were inconsistent--deep then shallow, fast then slow--because of that constant instability caused by the wind. And yet this did nothing to stop her arousal. All her muscles were tense from being in flight and hugging Nerlin, and the extreme thrill of this activity made her hearts pound hard.

Neither of them said anything as they both savoured the sensations. For Pyxis, things felt almost like a sensory overload. Her first time mating with Nerlin had been quiet, sensual, and intimate, but this was very different. She could feel the strain in her legs as she held on to Nerlin, and her wings were beginning to tire from being in this unusual, inverted configuration. The wind was buffeting her scales and making her neck frill flutter, and the wind also pushed them both around and caused unexpectedly (though slight) changes in direction.

As they flew high in the air, Pyxis was hardly paying any attention to the airspace around them. As far as she could tell there weren't any dragons nearby, but there was so much to see, so much to take in. All the ground far below, the sound of the rushing wind, the warm light of the evening sun. The first time they'd mated it had just been her and Nerlin together; now it was her and Nerlin and the world.

"This is great!" Pyxis declared. "Woooah!' she shouted, as they suddenly both hit a bout of turbulence. Pyxis halted her thrusting and just held on to Nerlin, with his reproductive organ still buried deep inside her.

"Hang on, I'm going to get us a bit more altitude." Nerlin started to flap his wings, no longer just gliding. With each powerful wingbeat he was pulling them up slightly higher in the sky, and his body moved against Pyxis.

With her wings inverted, Pyxis wasn't even providing enough lift to support her own bodyweight against gravity. She simply hugged herself against Nerlin, feeling his muscles strain as he flew. His genital slit was pressed up against hers, with his penis fully buried inside her vagina. With each wingbeat Pyxis felt her abdominal muscles clenching up as she felt that rhythmic sensation of dropping, then climbing, then dropping again. Nerlin's phallus would press against her insides and send a tingle of pleasure through her body, and it was surprising how good this felt.

Almost out of nowhere, all that tension and pleasure burst into a full-on orgasm. "Ahh!" Pyxis gasped as ecstasy washed over her body, jolting her already overstimulated mind even further. It was too much to take in, too much for her to comprehend. Closing your eyes while flying was an absurd thing to do, but Pyxis squinted her eyes shut and shudder against Nerlin, hugging him close with her limbs and her tail. She couldn't even muster the simple concentration to keep her flight scales in the correct configuration, but Nerlin carried their combined weight regardless. The pleasure seemed to echo on and on as her nerves kept firing through reflex arcs, until Pyxis's orgasm finally came to a slow end. Yet instead of a gentle afterglow of satisfaction, she was feeling even more aroused than before.

Nerlin had stilled his wings, and now they were make in a gentle glide. "Did you just climax?" Nerlin asked.

"Yes... When you beat your wings, it feels fantastic down there," Pyxis replied.

"For you too? Cause it feel great for me. I had to stop because I think I was about to shoot," Nerlin said.

"Don't stop. Keep going," Pyxis insisted, and that was all the encouragement Nerlin needed. He resumed beating his wings hard, and the rhythmic motions of his body sent fresh tingles of pleasure through Pyxis's genital slit. Her whole underbelly was alight with warm, wet sensation, and it was almost like she wasn't sure where her body stopped and where Nerlin's began. They were linked together in the most intimate of ways, sharing pleasure as they soared.

And then finally Pyxis felt a growing pressure in her slit. Nerlin's knot was swelling up, that reliable indicator of his imminent orgasm. Even with pleasure and sensation inundating her mind, Pyxis could vaguely remember her biology lessons from school. A drake's knot wouldn't usually physically link two coupling dragons together; that might be useful for their mating flight, albeit slightly dangerous. Instead it was more like the trigger for a drake's orgasm, naturally ensuring that he needed to be penetrating as deep as possible and increasing the chances of impregnating a drakka in heat. It could also stimulate the drake's partner, to increase pleasure for them both. These abstract facts shot past Pyxis's mind, but they meant almost nothing compared to the sensations she was experiencing. Her desires were reaching feverish levels; she needed to feel Nerlin knot her, and she needed to feel him fill her with his seed. She wanted him. She wanted him so very much.

"Ryahh!" Nerlin roared loudly as he hit his climax, and he folded his wings half-shut.

All of Pyxis's thoughts dropped out of her head as they both started to drop out of the sky. "Ahh..." She made a noise that was more of a moan than a roar, and she too folded in her wings without thinking about it. The two young dragons spiralled down through the air, still clutching each other close. The world spun around them in freefall, but they were paying no attention to any of it.

Everything felt so intense that Pyxis couldn't even roar. There were stars in her vision, and her ears were ringing. She could feel the rhythmic, powerful throbs of Nerlin's erection spurting his semen deep into her, sending his seminal fluids deep into her. Yet despite the overwhelming waves of pleasure blasting through her body, one tiniest bit of her conscious mind was still active, distantly trying to pay attention to their altitude. They were sweeping past that thin layer of clouds, and now the ground was increasingly becoming visible. Pyxis vaguely had an idea that they needed to get disentangled from each other, and to level off before they got too close to the ground.

But before Pyxis could even feel concerned, Nerlin threw his wings open again. "Hagghhh!" Pyxis exclaimed, as her breath was suddenly forced out of her chest. Nerlin kept his limbs around her, holding her tightly as he pulled them both out of their dive. For Pyxis, such a sudden recovery from a dive would tire her wings, and with Nerlin taking both their weights that must have strained his wings even further, but he made no noise of complaint as he pulled them back into level, low-altitude flight.

Pyxis could feel Nerlin's chest move as he panted, and she too was breathing heavily. "Huh... huh.. That was...so fun," he said. "Pyxis, are you alright?"

On her part, Pyxis was feeling absolutely drained by the intense excitement and pleasure she'd just withstood. "Ok... oh wow. You can...let go of me now... I'll open my wings..."

"Alright. Are you ready?" Nerlin asked.

Pyxis loosened the grip of her paws and disentwined her tail from Nerlin's. "Ok. Drop me... Ooh!" Despite knowing it was coming (and in fact asking for it), she still let out an involuntary exclamation when Nerlin let her go, releasing his paws and letting her drop away from him. Pyxis threw open her wings and spun herself around, finally flying right side up again. She shook her head, getting used to the normal perspective of the world.

Now the adrenaline was clearing from her system, leaving behind a deeply satisfied, tired sensation. Pyxis couldn't be bothered to flap her wings, even with the low altitude. A vast conifer forest stretched out below them, and she angled towards one hilltop that was largely barren of trees.

Pyxis landed heavily in the grassy meadow, and after stumbling forward, her legs folded and she collapsed onto the grass. Nerlin landed just seconds after her, hurriedly running to her side. "Are you alright?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm alright. Just... wow. That was quite something, what we just did. So intense!" Pyxis said. She reached a paw down and felt her underbelly; thanks to their sexual stunt, a mess of their combined bodily fluids was dripping out onto the grass, not that she cared.

Nerlin sat down beside her and put his wing around her back. "I enjoyed it. I hope you did too?"

"I did! I did enjoy it, although I think I might just prefer normal mating. It seemed less...stressful and terror-inducing. That was so intense!" Leaning against Nerlin, Pyxis rested her head on his shoulder. It took her a few minutes to catch her breath and recover somewhat from the extreme intensity of their mating flight. Her body felt very warm and aroused, and not in a sexual way anymore--her hearts were still racing, and her muscles were trembling from the high of the moment.

Pyxis was feeling slightly dazed, her thoughts all still jolted from the extreme emotional and physical high. She just leaned against Nerlin and appreciated the warm, comforting feeling of his scales against hers. The two dragons sat quietly and enjoyed their shared presence. A cool evening breeze was washing over the hilltop, and chirping birds flitted from tree branch to branch.

Pyxis was mentally replaying what had just happened, processing all the overwhelming sensations. Slowly her thoughts started to wander and grow incoherent. Her tiredness from all their long days of flying was catching up with her again, and despite it being evening time she almost started to doze off.

Nerlin nudged her shoulder with his nose, getting her attention. "Hmm?" Pyxis went.

"Look over there," Nerlin said, nodding his head to the northeast. Pyxis squinted at that direction and triggered her farsight, but nothing seemed to stand out. She saw trees, and forest, and hills, but nothing interesting. After a few more seconds, Nerlin prompted her further. "In the sky, just behind that collection of puffy clouds."

Pyxis shifted her gaze from the land to the sky, and then she immediately saw it--Avaeria. The City of Wings was in the far distance, just barely visible at all behind a thick column of clouds. It had been several adventurous days since they'd last seen their home, and all their time on the wilderness survival expedition had been totally different from the mundanity of normal everyday life.

Avaeria's general shape was an immense flattened bipyramid, like a mountain that had torn itself out of the ground to wonder the clouds, or a vast metallic flower that floated on the wind. From such grand distance, Pyxis couldn't even tell which direction the city was flying in. It hardly even seemed to be moving, though it was.

Shifting her gaze away from the city, Pyxis turned to look to the west. The evening was well underway and the sun was getting low in the sky. This day was coming to an end, as was their whole expedition together.

Pushing herself upright, Pyxis unfurled her wings and wrapped them around Nerlin in a hug. But no, that wasn't enough. She raised her head and looked right at him, and for a moment they just stared at each other, locked together in eye contact. Looking at each other, understanding, sharing this moment. Then Nerlin leaned forward and their muzzles met in a short, sweet kiss. It was just a simple gesture of shared intimacy, but it was also a deeper expression of that newfound relationship they now shared.

Nerlin sighed quietly. "We're almost home. Ready for the last flight of our expedition?"

Pyxis nodded silently. She got to her feet and spread out her wings, and Nerlin did the same. Both young dragons glanced to each other, then they ran forward and leapt into the air.

As the sun began to set, the sky dimmed from its normal blue hue to a radiant orange glow. As they approached Avaeria, the flying city went from being a small smear of grey in the distance, to an immense towering sight. Enforcement Division airships flew in wide formations around the city, maintaining a security presence and making sure that winds and weather never took the city by surprise.

In between all the countless buildings built on top off or dangling below the city's floating structure, dragons could be seen moving from point to point. Even at dusk, the city was a busy hive of activity. Dayshifts would be coming to a close, but nocturnal dragons would be taking over and Avaeria never truly slept.

Flying high in the sky, Avaeria was partially covered by clouds as the two young dragons came in for final approach. The city's many lights made it a glowing beacon of illumination, shining out into the dusky sky. At certain regular locations on Avaeria's underside, blasts of billowing clouds were visible as stabilization thrusters kept the city level. But the majority of the forces keeping Avaeria aloft were completely invisible; it wasn't the movement of the air that was pushing the city up, but incredibly powerful fields which drew vast quantities of power.

As they flew steadily on, heading straight towards the distant city in the sky, Nerlin reflected back on the entire expedition. He had learned much about Pyxis and she had learned much about him, and their relationship together had advanced from a quiet, awkward infatuation to something at least a bit more solid. There hadn't had been any truly epic adventures or huge revelatory discoveries, but there had been fun and excitement. The whole expedition had been a unique opportunity for independence and bonding, and Nerlin couldn't think of any way it could possibly have been better.

Well, there was one way it might have been improved. Feeling inspired, Nerlin turned his head away from Pyxis and opened his jaws. He exhaled sharply, hoping to see some trace of a magic, but all he spat was air.

This gesture hadn't gone unnoticed by Pyxis. "You'll get your magic eventually. Everyone does."

"I know. I just thought... You got your magic on this expedition, and it would have been nice if I got my magic too." Nerlin sighed in disappointment, but he continued to beat his wings hard as they climbed steadily to the height of the city, returning home. "I guess that's not the most important part. The most important part is... uh..."

"Yes?" Pyxis prompted, glancing at him as they flew together.

Nerlin felt a strange mix of emotions. He was glad to see Avaeria with all its familiarity, and he had missed his other friends and family. Yet it had also been a truly new experience roaming out in the wild, then visiting Outer Colony settlements. And spending all this time with Pyxis had been a true joy; their conversations, flights together, everything they'd experienced; it had all been an incredible adventure.

"The most important part of all this was us...together. Flying together, talking together, hunting together," he decided. "So thank you, Pyxis. Thank you for being who you are, and for being amazing."

Pyxis rocked her wings from side to side. "Thank you too! For... all that. Everything you just said, back at you. You're the best, Nerlin."

Flying side by side with Pyxis, Nerlin looked at his partner one last time, and he smiled. Pyxis smiled back at him, and together the two dragons passed city limits and returned home.

END

Epilogue

"Oh, you're back. So, how'd it go?" asked a drake with light brown scales.

Pyxis had been lying on her bed. She glanced up from her book and at her brother, who had just trotted into her room. "Hmm? The expedition? It was...normal. All normal."

"That's good." The two of them were silent for a moment, then Maltus flicked his neck frill. "Did your expedition partner try anything?"

In a slow, deliberate move, Pyxis kept her face neutral and flipped a page of the book she was reading from. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just checking for emotional and/or physical trauma, that's all. You know if you ever need someone beaten up as revenge for breaking your hearts, I'll be here for you."

"Shut up. And if you even so much as touch Nerlin, I'll kill you myself." Pyxis spat a small puff of frostbreath at her brother, but he disappeared in a flash of his own magic, instantly teleporting a single body length to the side. The icy air dissipated against the room wall.

"Mm hmm. Good to have you back, sis." Turning around, Maltus trotted out of Pyxis's room.

Epilogue 2

Jarzyl placed a glass jar down on the table. "Look at this! Isn't that cool?"

Nerlin squinted at the jar, which just appeared to be filled with a green translucent liquid. "What's that supposed to be?"

"It's a slime! I caught a slime. Isn't that cool?" Jarzyl said. The jar twitched slightly against her paw. "I rescued this little guy while we were exploring a cave in the Julnirs. He was trapped up in a megaspider's web, all wrapped up in a cocoon and waiting to be eaten."

"Did you say megaspider?" Pyxis asked, her neck frill perking up.

Caden nodded. "Yeah. We found this cave in the mountainside and I said, 'Let's not go in there. It looks dark, miserable, and like a bear or something horrid might live in there.'_Then Jarzyl said, '_No, probably not. It's probably just deserted. Let's go in there.' And so we went in, and it turned out to be a megaspider nest. Ugggh."

Jarzyl nodded her head enthusiastically. "And then I rescued this cute little slime! He's my pet now. Normally I keep him in this glass tank, but I take him out for walks in this jar."

Pyxis shuddered. "I'm glad we didn't see megaspiders, or vizriaks, or something else nasty."

"We also happened to find the old wreckage of an airship. Isn't that cool? We should exchange expedition stories," Jarzyl said. "So how did your expedition go? Did you have fun?"

Nerlin exchanged a look with Pyxis. "Uh, yeah. We had fun."

Pyxis nodded her head. Unseen by Caden and Jarzyl, she entwined her tail with Nerlin's. "It was fun," she agreed.

THE END

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