FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Clenching and unclenching his paws with nervous energy, Meegi tried not to let the shiver running through his body show, as the frigid night air washed over his outstretched wings. The knowledge that they would be beginning at any moment kept him alert, and he alternated between looking at the sea of twinkling lights of the city below and across to the other members of the team. Compared to the city he called home, the cluster of lights that made up Wellington looked dim and fragmented. This was far from his first entrance show, nor the most important for the season, but being in a foreign land and the inability to practise in the stadium until today meant that the entire team was tense with anticipation. With a forepaw, he reached up under the crimson padding that protected his chest from claws and maws and looped a digit through a strap. Tugging it tighter, he felt more comfortable with the armour's reassuring hold around his body and allowed himself a deep breath. The air was so cold that it almost burned in his throat, but he tried not to let his discomfort show. In the moonless night, the Cresties Dragonball team would have been almost impossible to spot if it wasn't for the slowly pulsing, white lights each of them held in their hind paws. Each of their lights illuminated their underside and, due to the tight formation, made the flight partially visible in the inky black night sky. All twelve of them kept only half a wing's length away from each other, forming four consecutive V shapes that locked into one another as they circled the stadium far below.

Looking back under his wing, Meegi made eye contact with the primary brooders and then looked past them to check on the reserves before straightening his neck and looking ahead at Fiital, who led the whole team. The striking yellow drake remained poised and focused ahead, as he always did, not showing any signs of tiredness or fatigue and acting as an example for the rest. Although appearing stoic, Meegi caught a glimpse of the drake's hind paw fidgeting with the tubular pyrotechnic device that had been strapped to his foot, and he knew that their leader was also getting restless.

Flying in silence, all of them listened to the chatter on the radio. Each dragon wore a slim, elastic-strapped bone induction speaker on one of their horns, tuned into the same frequency so that they wouldn't miss their cue. Due to their altitude and their low-powered design, the voices came through somewhat muffled, but even still, Meegi could hear the stress in the otherwise professional voice of the coordinator. A musical chime from his right wing caught Meegi's attention, and when he looked towards the small camera that was tightly strapped to his wing knuckle, he saw a small red light blink on.

"I still say they could have picked a better song," called out Looran, the second claimer in the primary flight, and looked across to the rest of the flight for support in her argument. The dragoness had moved from reserves to the primaries only one season before Meegi and regularly reminded Meegi of the fact in genuinely playful jests. "Like, I get it, but it's a bit on the nose, isn't it? Might as well play We Are the Champions!" she added, earning a grumble of acknowledgement from the flight and a small nod from Meegi.

Having rehearsed their entrance a dozen times back home, their song for the evening still lingered in Meegi's mind even though it hadn't started playing yet. "Nixies used it for their entry to the grand finals. Kinda backfired though, didn't it?" Meegi replied with a small smile that grew as other members of the flight laughed. When their opponents had flown in to the famous soundtrack, it had been true; the Nixies had been the reigning champions. However, after ninety minutes, the Cresties had snatched victory by only two points, making them the defending champions for the upcoming season.

"Okay, yeah… maybe not that then," Looran continued while beating her wings once to get some warmth back into them. "Surely something local would get the crowd riled up? Like, we are so close to the home of ACDC, we could totes be dropping in to Back in Black, Highway to Hell, gods, Thunderstruck would go hard with the band here." She continued, and Meegi saw Fiital’s tail flick in refrained annoyance. He was clearly ready and wanted them all to focus, yet they had nothing to do other than wait for their signal. "But nooo, all we get is this emo shit–"

"It's not emo shit," Fiital snapped without looking back. His tone cut through the humour like a knife and silenced the flight. The sudden quiet hung between the team members for a long pause before their team captain inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled. "It's not emo. It's called The Greatest Show, and that's what we are trying to sell them," he continued with a more casual easiness in his voice that invited them to continue talking.

"It's emo," Looran retorted simply and looked across to smirk at Meegi. "It's Panic! at the Disco, so it's emo… and not even good emo. Hell, Bullet for My Valentine? Black out the lights, couple extra flares, then boom! Fireworks. That would sell some fucking tickets," she continued, causing Meegi and the others to laugh and shake their heads at her simplified version of what would actually be a complex entry flight.

"Maybe if this whole claimer thing doesn't work out for you, you could work in the media team," Fiital mused before falling silent as more radio chatter broke out through their comms. There was yet another delay due to a fuse tripping somewhere in an electrical panel, and the crew were working quickly to bring the equipment online again. Following their captain's lead, the entire team beat their wings in quick succession to regain the height they had slowly lost in their glide and reset themselves to be ready for when they got the go-ahead.

"Could be worse," Meegi mused as he used his tail like a rudder to drift close to the rest of the claimers. "Fireworks," he said simply and chuckled as a collective groan rolled through the flight. "I swear, the whole last season I was humming that in my head," he continued with a playful grin.

"Hey, I think Meegi is onto something," Fiital called back while turning his neck to look back over his wing at the flight. "We won, after all. New plan, someone plays that song for Meegi before each game." Their captain continued with a rare open-mouthed smile. "He clearly needs it to score points–"

Meegi opened his mouth to retort that he wasn't a primary before midway through last season, and that he didn't have a chance to score, but was silenced as a voice came through their hornsets. "Cresties, status check?" the voice sounded tense yet professional. All of them knew what it meant, and as one, the flight looked forward and renewed their tight formation. In an instant, all joking was quelled, and each player adopted a focused expression as they listened intently.

"Cresties, seven thousand feet and over the drop zone. Standing by and ready," Fiital replied as he held the transmit button on the inside of his left vambrace. After hearing confirmation that his message had been understood, Fiital turned his head slightly so that he could call back over his shoulder and addressed the team in a firm, commanding tone. "Cresties! Remember, this is an exposure game. It doesn't count for the season, and we are here to get hype up. We aren't just representing our team, but the sport as a whole. Who knows, maybe this little country might look at adopting the sport one day. So, Looran, that means you aren't going to hurt anyone. Right?" he asked and glared at the dragoness, who grunted an acknowledgement. "Brooders, all of you. We want this game to be interesting. If that means you let them take an egg, let them. They won't be as good as what we are used to, and I don't want to see us just scoring all night. Leave it to us to give them a chase, but at the same time, don't just give them the ball. You got me?" he continued and received small nods of understanding. It was still a game, and the outcome would still reflect on the team's reputation, however all of them knew what they were really here to achieve. "And Meegi?" Fiital added, turning his head to look over his wing at the drake. "Do some of that tricky shit you love, make them love us."

"I thought you'd never ask," Meegi mused and looked towards the captain with a glint in his eye. The subsequent smile that tore at Meegi's snout was unstoppable and infectious, spreading to their captain's snout and the rest of the flight like the wind across their wings.

"Breaker reset." A gruff voice came across their radio, and then the cacophony of chatter broke out. It all sounded like absolute chaos, yet everyone who was contributing seemed to accept it, and after almost a minute of unruly noise, the same professional voice returned.

"All systems, I need a go-no go. Link?" he asked, of which another voice confirmed, "Link, live and stable on all feeds."

"Telemetry?"

"Got them strong, telemetry is go."

"Pyro?"

"Pyro, ready."

"Lasers?"

"Go."

"Audio?"

"Audio is go."

"Video?"

"Go."

"Lights?"

"Lights are go."

"Cheer?"

"Cheer ready."

"Band?"

"Band is a go."

"Cresties?"

"Go," Fiital replied firmly and rolled his head from side to side to loosen the muscles in his spine. It didn't matter how many times they had rehearsed; Meegi couldn't help but feel a wave of nervousness wash over him. However, he refused to let it show and instead stared straight ahead like the rest of the team. None said a word, and all waited while listening as the remaining key teams responsible for their entry reported in.

Finally, after what felt like minutes, the coordinator paused and then spoke into the radio once more. "Alright everybody," the man started before pausing to take a deep breath that wasn't missed by his microphone. "Let's make this a good one. Going dark in three…" he continued, and Meegi's chest tightened as he prepared to dive. Stretching his hind legs out behind himself, he touched the flare strapped to his left hind paw with the other to reassure himself that it was still there and took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Two…" came the voice through Meegi's horn, and instinctively he looked down towards their destination. From their altitude, the stadium appeared as a small, silent circle of light, however he knew that it was anything but. By now, the announcers would be building hype in the audience, announcing their imminent arrival and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

"One…"

With an explosive surge of power, Fiital, Meegi, and the rest of the flight flapped their wings to quickly transition from their lazy glide into a fast turn that kept them at the same altitude but built enough speed to manoeuvre. Using their hind paws, each of the dragons turned off their navigation lights and cast themselves into darkness. They each knew where they needed to be and moved as one in the banked turn before levelling out together. The powerful muscles that wrapped Meegi's chest bulged and became corded under his scales as he heaved his wings downwards. Following Fiital's lead, the team climbed for one wingbeat before curling their bodies and angling their head downwards to aim directly at the stadium.

"Mark."

With perfect timing, the bright glow of the stadium blinked out, and what was once an oval-shaped crown of light vanished from the cityscape. Not that the Cresties seemed to notice, as all of the players snapped their wings closed and began their dive. Each with their wings cropped so tight that the wind couldn't catch in their membranous wings, and their tails held rigidly tight, the twelve players fell like darts driving down from the heavens. The sound of the night air racing past them built to a roar, and Meegi's tapered ears tucked themselves tight against his head to keep out of the slipstream created by his muzzle, while the nictitating membranes of his eyes slipped down to protect his vision from the pressure of the air. Against the orange and red lights of the city traffic below, the dark shapes of Fiital and Looran were striking and angular. Using his tail, Meegi made small corrections to his descent until he could feel the disturbed air of their captain against one of his folded wings.

Focused forward and driving down at a breakneck pace, the song for their entrance began to play. Relayed through their hornsets for timing, the music brought a smirk to Meegi's snout as the wail of vocals began and dozens of crimson and gold lasers swept up from the stadium and shone towards them. The sweep was brief and quick before shutting out and plunging the stadium into darkness once more.

Ladies and gents, this is the moment you've waited for

The second wail of vocals rang out, matched by another sweep of the lasers. Still racing towards the stadium, Meegi could almost make out the individual laser projectors before they shut down once more. Falling at terminal velocity, his mane fluttered wildly against his neck, and he clenched his lips tightly together so the wind couldn't enter his mouth. Breathing at this speed and angle was almost impossible, as exhaling meant fighting against the wind, but Meegi paid little attention as he focused on his position in the formation.

You've been searching in the dark,

Your sweat soaking through the floor

The third wail of vocals included a deep, resonating beat of a drum from the team's band as they began to join into the symphony. The sound lacked the depth and chest-pounding impact that it deserved, as it was muted and poorly reproduced through the hornsets worn by the dragons, but each of them knew that it was their cue. Angling his tail, Fiital, Meegi, and Looran peeled to one side briefly before curving back into a spiral, while the brooders and reserves performed similar manoeuvres, but offset from one another. The result was the twelve dragons in four groups spiralling around one another in a helical formation towards the earth. Not that the audience would be able to spot them just yet, but those watching online or via a broadcast would see their trackers spiralling around in perfect synchronisation. It was a feat that required perfect coordination to perform in broad daylight, and was made infinitely more difficult in the cold darkness of night.

And buried in your bones, there's an ache that you can't ignore,

Taking your breath, stealing your mind

And all that was real is left behind

Erupting first from the pyrotechnic on Fiital's hind paw, blisteringly bright gold sparks exploded into the night sky. The small chunks of burning material fell away from the device and were almost instantly slowed by the wind, resulting in a striking gold trail of light that illuminated Fiital, Meegi, and Looran, and continued to linger in the night sky behind them. Below, the stadium pulsed to the beat of the drum, and lights all across it throbbed in time with blinding crimson and yellow flashes. It was as if the stadium was a living creature being woken up by an opening barrage as the cavalry drove down towards it at terminal velocity.

Don't fight it, it's coming for you, running at ya

It's only this moment, don't care what comes after

Your fever dream, can't you see it getting closer?

Just surrender 'cause you feel the feeling taking over,

It's fire, it's freedom, it's flooding open,

The whoosh of sound and rush of heat against Meegi's hind paw signalled that his flare had ignited, and he saw the ten other streaks of light in his peripheral vision as the rest of the team's devices ignited. Corkscrewing down in a spiral that began to tighten around itself, the entire team dove with perfect spacing, and as the details of the stadium became visible, the lush green pitch with its painted white lines, the three nesting poles that had been erected at each end, and now the sound of music began to fight against the deafening roar of the air rushing past Meegi's ears.

It's the preacher in the pulpit and your blind devotion,

There's something breaking at the brick of every wall,

The stadium raced towards them as they continued to fall, the large circular opening in its roof akin to a gaping maw. Falling through the night sky had offered no point of reference to their speed, and as soon as they drove straight through the opening with their flares still burning, Meegi's senses were assaulted by the transition. The air changed temperature almost instantly, the cool evening air replaced by the heavy, humid atmosphere of thousands gathered to watch them. The rush of ground towards them caused Meegi's eyes to narrow and his paws to tuck close to his body. Aiming at the centre of the field, Meegi raised his folded wings in sync with Fiital and the rest of the team as the music paused for a heartbeat.

It's holding all that you know,

So tell me, do you wanna go?!

Together, the Cresties flicked their wings out and angled them to pull up. Each of the four trios of dragons began to pull out in different directions, Fiital leading the primary claimers towards the opposition’s side of the field, while the others directed themselves east, west, and south. Meegi's large, but thin membranes instantly went taut as they caught the air and felt as though it was being stretched in all directions as the surfaces crushed the air under them. Forces pulled at every fibre of his being as he redirected his incredible speed from falling vertical to shooting out across the pitch in formation with Fiital and Looran. His body became bone-crushingly heavy, and the muscles in his neck and tail bunched under his scales as he kept pulling his head back and tried to look to where he wanted to go rather than where he was going.

Midway through pulling up, Meegi saw white sheets of vapour form under Fiital's wings as the humid air was crushed together by the drake's wings until it almost became liquid. Stealing a glance under his own wing, Meegi saw the same phenomenon under Looran’s wings and his own. Grunting through clenched teeth, the drake's eyes felt as though they were going to press out of his skull from the inside as his major arteries contracted to spike his blood pressure and temporarily keep his blood from rushing to his feet. For those precious few seconds of immense strain, his heart worked hard for every beat as it tried desperately to shift blood against the laws of physics. Scrunching his paws into tight balls and clenching the muscles throughout his legs helped, but did little to stop the edges of his vision from beginning to darken. The noise of the crowd blurred into a muddy chorus of white noise, and the beat of his heart dominated his ears as he continued to maintain the manoeuvre until the edge of the field appeared before them and the trio all levelled out at once.

In an instant, the heavy pressure across his wings and chest lifted, making him feel almost weightless, and at once the sound of the packed stadium roared through his mind. Exhaling sharply the breath of air he had been holding for the dive, Meegi gasped in another lungful of air and held it for the next turn. With their immense speed, they were quickly running out of stadium, and as they reached the boundary of the green grass, all three twisted their wings to pull up once again. This time, with a slight left-hand bank while keeping their wings fully extended to reveal to the crowds of humans and dragons the freshly painted Cresties logo emblazoned across each of their wings. Together they kept far enough away that their burning flares didn't pose a risk of sending embers into the countless onlookers, but the audience didn't seem to mind as roars of surprise and glee rang out behind them.

Glancing across the stadium, Meegi could see that each trio of Cresties was still holding perfect time. Each group was pulling up towards the circular opening in the roof, the light tails of their burning flares looking akin to ribbons wrapping the stadium from the inside. Gaining altitude and losing speed, Meegi shadowed Fiital and spotted an inconspicuous yellow flag ahead of them. To the crowd, it would have gone unnoticed; however, for the primary claimers, it was their mark for the next part of the show. Meegi's eyes narrowed as Fiital flashed the digits on his hind paw before clenching them tight, a signal to slow down, and together they adjusted their wings to bleed off speed, while passing over the second tier of seating.

Reaching the rim of the stadium roof at a brisk pace, they each beat their wings to correct their turn and flew parallel to the edge of the opening, as the roar of fireworks erupted in their wake. Looking across the length of his wing, Meegi took in the view and grinned as the entire stadium erupted in cheers of awe. The imagery was breathtaking as the four groups of players appeared to ignite different quadrants of the roof with the flares they carried in their hind paws. Their pace matched the following explosions of crimson and gold flawlessly, to the extent that it looked as though Fiital's yellow flare created a leading edge of gold flame which was then overtaken by Meegi's and Looran's crimson. At the point that they had made it a quarter of the way around the stadium ring and connected their path of fire with the others of their team, they continued for another few seconds until their flares began to splutter. Flying so close to the fireworks sent a wave of burning heat across Meegi's side, yet he stayed in formation until Fiital signalled with his toes to break formation.

Folding his wing, Meegi rolled over himself and drove down onto the audience below while Fiital pumped his wings to climb higher and Looran continued an orbit of the roof of the stadium. Coming away from the sizzle of fireworks, the deep thudding beat of drums, the wail of the guitar, and the screams of the crowd became the only sounds that Meegi could hear. Swooping lower to the audience now that his flare had extinguished, he grinned as both humans and dragons alike waved flags, pointed, and cheered. Unlike the games back home where the stadium was divided into two sections to keep opposing fans separate, the entire crowd was a mix of those wearing the crimson and gold colours for the visiting Cresties and all black to show their support for the home team. To those who wore black scarves, scale paint, or waved black flags with silver ferns on them, it didn't seem to matter that he was a Crestie, and he received lung-shattering cheers as he passed above.

Flaring his wings as he approached the sidelines of the pitch, Meegi stayed clear of the Cresties' cheer squad as they performed their routine for those not entranced by the aerial performance. Dozens of lithe dragonesses, each brightly painted and polished, moved in time with young women who wore nothing more than crimson bikinis and yellow crop tops. They alternated between dancing independently and together, with the women climbing up onto the shoulders or rumps of the dragonesses to continue their routine. Flaring his wings to touch down on what looked to have been a running track, he caught a glimpse of one woman being flung up into the air by a dragoness, only to be caught at the apex of the stunt by another who then returned her to the ground safely.

Landing at a trot, Meegi kept his wings mantled as a pair of humans wearing Cresties uniforms came rushing out from the edge of the crowd. One wore thick gloves and carried with him a small red fire extinguisher, while the other carried a large stainless-steel bucket in both hands. Dangling on either side of the bucket were two leather-wrapped rigid handles that bore claw marks from previous games. The music made it impossible to communicate between one another, but Meegi knew what he had to do and paused mid-step with his hind leg extended and hovering behind him. The man with the fire extinguisher and gloves quickly set to work unstrapping the used flare from Meegi's hind paw. The device’s insulating mount that wrapped around Meegi's paw had protected him from the flare’s heat, and although it had been expended it still smoldered. While the first man removed the flare and took Meegi's navigation lights from him, the other set down the large bucket before him. Inside, a dozen red egg-shaped balls of cloth were stacked on top of one another, and as soon as Meegi was free from the pyrotechnic device, he leapt into the air. In one motion he pumped his wings down while snatching up the bucket of cloth eggs between his hind legs and took to the sky.

Keeping low and slow, Meegi flew back up over the crowd and, while curling his hind legs forwards to bring the bucket within reach, plucked one of the eggs out with a forepaw. His presence escalated the cheering and shouting from the sea of people, each one now reaching up with hands, paws, and maws. It didn't matter which team they were here to support; each and every one of them wanted what he had.

"Camera twelve, track claimer three, come on! Stand by, Meegi, stand by… where are my lights?!" came the echo of a voice through Meegi's hornset, the sound fighting valiantly to overcome the deafening chaos of the cheering crowd. Spreading his wings as wide as possible, he slowed to almost a complete stall while scanning the crowd for a suitable candidate. From across the stadium, a powerful spotlight focused its beam on Meegi, sending a striking shadow of his silhouette onto the fans below. "All you, Meegi," added the voice as Meegi saw a pair of dragons only a dozen yards ahead.

A brown, tan-like dragon with twin frills running down their neck looked almost oblivious to Meegi’s approach, gazing across the stadium at one of the other claimers performing a dive. However, under the adult dragon’s wing, a smaller-looking green-coloured dragon looked up at Meegi with eyes filled with wonder. Without hesitation, Meegi thrust his empty paw in the direction of the drake with one talon extended, singling him out from the crowd. The smile that broke out on the green dragon's snout was as broad as could be, and he wiggled out from under the larger dragon’s wing to shake off the encompassing membranes. Meegi remembered when he was a fledgling, watching the Cresties play on television and seeing them throw flags wrapped up as eggs into the crowd. He had longed to be one of the lucky few to receive a flag, but the team's would only throw a few dozen, and the odds of catching one were astronomical, and that was before considering the chances of even attending a Cresties match. Like all events the prices of tickets varied depending on the game, the opponents and the seating, but with the Cresties being one of the top teams, no ticket was cheap. When his mother had surprised him with tickets to a game and had bought him a flag to wear, his heart had soared, and that moment had become as ingrained in his mind as the game they had watched itself. Now, flying for the very team he had idolised, he always tried to toss a flag egg towards small families, or those in the cheap seats he had once sat in.

Closing the gap, Meegi bounced the wrapped-up egg in one paw before gripping it in both forepaws to throw it down to the small drake. However, as he came within a body’s length of the pair, he realised he had made a small mistake. Instead of being a fledgling with his father, Meegi realised that it was a fully grown green aquatic drake under the wing of the other drake. Not only was the aquatic full-grown, but as the winged drake retracted his wing, Meegi saw that the green was almost as tall as he was, with frills tattooed in a complex array of tribal and geometric shapes. Blinking in realization that this wasn't a fledgling and his father but instead two fully grown drakes watching the game, Meegi cleared the image of a younger version of himself from his mind, before tossing the balled-up flag down anyway. Conscious that the cameras were still trained on him, Meegi smiled politely as he passed over the top of the two before heaving his wings down in a heavy flap. The rush of air from his wings washed down over the crowd and, with a second half-flap, Meegi rotated his wings in opposite directions and performed a slow corkscrew over the audience. Angling the bucket of flags while he was inverted, Meegi made sure not to drop any while he rolled over himself at a speed so slow that it looked as if it defied the laws of physics. Whipping his tail around, he used its momentum to pull his hips and righted himself, much to the delight of the spectators who roared or clapped in approval.

Spotting a small family ahead, consisting of two adults and three fledglings of various sizes, Meegi reached back and collected another flag to continue his routine. Even as the spotlight left him and the cameras moved to one of the brooders performing a pass down the length of the stadium while breathing a single long stream of orange fire, Meegi continued to deliver flags to the crowds, this time shifting to the cheapest seats and giving the less fortunate more attention. Spreading out his gifts at regular intervals, Meegi kept track of the music, and as the song began to reach the crescendo, he tossed the last flag out towards the closest family before angling himself to swoop down the slope of tiered seating. Approaching the cheer squad again, he made eye contact with one of the dragonesses dancing and let his hind legs dangle down with the empty bucket clutched between his paws. Without needing to speak a word, the 'ness reared up on her hind legs and caught the bucket after Meegi dropped it.

Across the stadium, the rest of the Cresties were also heading towards the middle of the pitch as the music built to its final chorus. Extending his wings to their full length, Meegi let the speed he had created while diving down the seating carry him across the pitch, and with a brief flutter of his wings to slow him, landed with the rest of the team. Turning around to face back the way he had come, Meegi basked in the cheers and applause of the tens of thousands of spectators. The music came to an end, and the noise of approval from the stands escalated, while Meegi and the rest of the claimers stood proudly in a circular formation, with their wings lifted to show the team's logos on their wings.

"Two minutes and fifty-four seconds. Not a bad way to blow three hundred grand, eh?" Looran mused with a chuckle and glanced towards Meegi for acknowledgement. The figure made Meegi's smile falter for a moment, but any chance of rebuttal was cut off as a final barrage of fireworks went off above them. The bright explosions briefly washed the entire stadium in crimson light before they blinked out in a fizzle of sparks and left a thick smoke hanging in the air above the pitch. "Make that three-fifty k," Looran corrected herself with a smirk as Meegi shook his head in disbelief. "Don't worry, I heard the home team went cheap on their entrance."

"Oh yeah?" Meegi replied half-heartedly as Fiital gave them all a nod and they broke their circle formation to instead form a neat row on their side of the painted white line that bisected the field. Standing side by side with Fiital and Looran, Meegi kept his wings tight against his sides and stood with his neck curled back in a regal S-shape in preparation for the other team's arrival.

"Yeah, I heard like a grand in scale paint and some snacks for the team," Looran snickered out of the corner of her mouth to Meegi. Meegi tried not to let his frown show, but when he looked to Looran out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the dragoness had an amused smile, but a look in her eye that told him she wasn’t joking. It wasn't a requirement for teams to put on lavish shows at the beginning of the game; however, it gave people something to enjoy even if they didn't completely follow the match, and it had become a chance for the teams to flaunt their wealth and talent. Given that this was meant to be an exhibition game designed to promote the sport, it seemed strange that the home team wouldn't pull out all the stops to show what they had to offer. "Although, if you only have two decent stadiums in your whole country, I guess it makes sense to not make a song and dance about it all–" Looran continued until a stern hiss from Fiital silenced her.

"That's enough, be respectful. Just stand there and shut up," their team captain added from the corner of his mouth and nodded towards the far end of the pitch. "Here they come," Fiital added as one of the stadium's doors at ground level opened and two rows of dragons began to walk out. Compared to the Cresties' complex and coordinated flight sequence, their opponents' arrival looked haphazard. Their steps weren't in time, nor did they walk in any notable formation, and instead strolled out leisurely while the crowd cheered them on fanatically. Emerging from the depths of the stadium, the twelve players began to spread out into a scattered arc and walked towards the Cresties while shaking their wings loose and occasionally rolling their necks from side to side.

Watching them closely, Meegi found it difficult to identify which of the players were meant to be claimers or brooders. With every team that he had played against, the claimers were usually lithe, agile, and nimble. After all, their goal was to dart into the nesting zones, steal egg-shaped balls from the opposing brooders, and then fly back to their nests while fending off the other team's claimers. Likewise, the brooders were always heavier-set dragons, built for defensive strength rather than speed. Today, however, the entire team looked to be made up almost exclusively of brooders, and at a distance their black pads blended in with the black scale paint they all wore, which made it even harder to see what role each player was meant to perform.

They continued to approach without any urgency until they came within a dozen feet of the waiting Cresties and then came to a sudden stop. Meegi frowned as neither team seemed to move, and a heavy quietness fell across the stadium. It was as if someone had grabbed the volume knob of life and dialled it down to nothing. Glancing around the stadium, Meegi squinted and saw that everyone was on their feet, looking at them with the same silence that their opposing team watched them with. Tens of thousands of people, humans and dragons alike, all of whom had just been cheering them on, now looked down at the Cresties in absolute silence. It was uncomfortable, and sent a wave of unease through Meegi as he refocused on the other team, all of whom now stared back with wide, fierce eyes as one of their number began to pace from side to side.

What Meegi had first thought was black scale paint that covered each player from snout to tail tip was actually a complex arrangement of spirals, jagged lines, and interlocking geometric shapes. It was a design he had seen on some humans, but never across an entire dragon's body. It looked as though it would have taken hours to painstakingly paint, but combined with each dragon's large bulk, it gave each member of the team an intimidating visage.

Watching what he assumed was the leader of their team pace, Meegi tracked his movements carefully and watched as he partially unfurled his wings and looked around the stadium with the same intense expression his team wore while they stared the Cresties down. The painted drake inhaled and exhaled quickly through his teeth in firm, stiff breaths, each one creating a low hiss before he paused in the centre of his team and turned to face Meegi.

"Ko wai mātou?" he snarled, his voice sharp and blunt. Meegi didn't understand the words, but they came like a war cry, accusational, and sliced through the silent stadium like a blade through silk. His voice hung in the air for a spell until it echoed back across the field like a ripple on a pond. He continued to stand still with a wild expression, poised and ready to lunge, while the rest of his team lifted a forepaw and, as one, drove their paws down into the grass, in a half step back. Each of them dropped into a low squat while slapping their wings against their sides so hard that it sounded like a gunshot.

A heartbeat later, a deafening boom rang out across the stadium as tens of thousands of dragons and humans all repeated the motion. Meegi jumped as the sound hammered into his chest and took his breath away. The sound was so all-encompassing and firm, as if the stadium was a kettle drum being beaten by a god and they were in the middle. Then as one, the opposing team and the entire stadium answered their leader's call with one voice that made Meegi shrink down an inch.

"Ko tatou te tai toia, Ko tatou nga ngaru!"

Each sentence of their war cry was punctuated by the whip-cracking sound of their wings against their sides. Meegi had no idea what their words meant, but their message was clear. They were united. This wasn't just a game; they were here for war.

"Ko wai e tū nei?" shouted the leader while mantling his wings in unison with his team again. Holding them aloft and angling them quickly, the team's wings shuddered like the rattle of a rattlesnake. A warning that needed no translation. "Nga tarakona o Aotearoa!!" called back the team, and the whole crowd together, their words ending in a bestial howl-like tone. In the brief quiet that followed, the players took the opportunity to flash their fangs in open-mouthed snarls and flicked their tongues out in what was clearly a warning.

"Whakarongo, whakarongo ki te tai!" shouted their leader, before the entire team took a step forwards with a deafening stomp and another slap of their wings. "Ka piki, ka hinga, ka hoki mai ano!" they called before taking a second step forwards and then one back. The rhythmic beating of their wings and feet continued as they took two steps forwards then one step backwards, approaching the Cresties together while tilting their heads with eyes wide and tongues flashing.

"I tamata ratou ki te pupuri ia matou!" yowled their team captain while extending his wings to full length and holding them aloft to showcase the intricate designs painted onto his wings. Now only a few paces away, Meegi noticed that they looked more faded than the crisp lines that covered his scales and quickly realised that they weren't painted. Instead the drake’s wings were tattooed with permanent ink in the complex swirls and jagged lines. Wing tattoos weren't unheard of, but he had never seen one so comprehensive that it covered the entire flight surface.

"Engari! Engari!, Kāore te tai e herea!" The team and stadium cried back as they began to sway and continued to stomp their feet to the beat. The stadium felt like a living, writhing creature as it pulsed and swelled with the motions of the crowd. Flinching with every sharp crack of wings against scales, paws against ground, Meegi tried not to listen to his instincts and instead of stepping back, held the line with his team.

Like creatures possessed, they continued to hold their unblinking, wide-eyed stare as they cocked their heads to one side and their leader continued to howl their war cry.

"Ka piki to tatou mana, kaha, tawhito!

Ka pakaru te kohatu i te ngaru,

Ka manawanui, ka noho rangatira" he called, only pausing between claims to breathe in sharp hissing inhales.

Marching forwards, the whole team squatted low with each step and continued to slam their flickering wings against their sides. "Nga toka iti? Kare nga toka iti e mau i te tai!" they cried, while turning their necks to briefly look behind them and then snapping their focus back towards the visiting team with another powerful stride.

The energy in the stadium escalated as their leader let out an almost scream-like roar and together the team began to march forwards. This time never taking a step back and instead sweeping and rippling their tails through the air behind them. "Whakarongo! Whakarongo!,

Ka pakaru matou i a koe!" they bellowed, but their voices were drowned by the sound of people adding their voices to a deafening shout.

“Tuohu ki te tai piki!” They roared as one in a deafening bellow like cry.

A shiver ran down Meegi's spine as the final cry echoed throughout the stadium, and as he glanced to his left and right, he could see that the rest of the team stood with jaws clenched and wings tightly against their sides. Cheers and clapping rang out around them, and the New Zealand players continued to snarl and make low warning hisses at the Cresties until the flight of referees glided down to land between the two teams. Meegi’s heart pounded in his chest, but he tried to remain calm as the announcer's voice boomed throughout the stadium. It sounded feeble and muffled compared to the verbal assault they had just endured, and as Meegi swallowed he tried to refocus his attention away from the wild-looking players and instead focused on the referees. The game was about to begin, and he had to remind himself that the players they were about to play against were not from the same top league as they were, and despite the other team’s war dance, this sport wasn't meant to be a battle to the death.

==Page break==

The morning sun's rays should have been coming through the window to cast an annoying glare on her computer’s screen, however the thick, dark grey thunderheads stifled the light and cast the office in dark shadow. Littered like spilt skittles, brightly coloured, funky-looking cushions and office chairs felt forgotten with the absence of people to use them, and even the light from the bars of white fluorescent tubes appeared to have been consumed by the darkness outside, as half of them remained off. Alone in the office, she appreciated the peace and quiet while she could. In less than two hours, the office would become a hive of activity, full of gossip, strategy discussions, and a host of additional responsibilities she would need to attend to. Until then, she used the temporary peace and quiet to get through her inbox and get on top of her workload.

Sitting on a thickly padded cushion, with her tail curled around her so that no one could accidentally step on it, Reeva's eyes occasionally flicked to her second screen while she tapped at the keys on her computer. Without needing to look down at the keyboard, her clawed digits clattered against the cheap plastic keys in rapid bursts as she composed a meeting that could have been an email if she and her boss could trust their colleagues enough to actually stop and read the contents. Pausing mid-sentence as she realised she was sounding a bit too blunt, Reeva's gaze drifted to the video on her other screen and she allowed herself a few minutes of distraction.

The view from Meegi's horn camera dominated the screen, framed by overlays that showed the score, his heart rate, speed, wing beats per minute, g-forces, distance covered, and a collection of less useful data. Having paid her monthly subscription to be a Cresties member, Reeva was able to change camera feeds to any of the players at the click of a button, or let the stream play on auto to watch a more curated experience. Yet she stayed with Meegi's feed for the entire game so far. Captured in ultra high definition, the video wasn't a live feed and the game had already ended a few hours prior, but this was the first opportunity Reeva had gotten to see the exhibition match. The camera angle made it feel as though she was right in the action as Meegi cropped a wing and spiralled under an intercepting player at a rate that seemed impossible. In the corner of the screen, a small dot snapped from one side of the graph to the other as it showed the gravitational forces pulling at the drake, meanwhile his heart rate spiked as he continued to clutch the white ball in his talons and pounded his wings.

Tearing her gaze away from the screen as Meegi created distance between himself and the other players, she tried to refocus on her email and held backspace to clear away the offending section. Retyping the sentence in another way, she hesitated and reread what she had written, concluding that now it sounded too polite, to the point of coming across as passive-aggressive. Having just finished her probationary period at the foundation, she didn't want her boss to feel like she was relaxing her standards. Placing a paw on the large track ball-like mouse, she held down a key to select the text and then used a tool to get suggestions on ways her writing could be improved. Looking down the list of overly corporate and sterile responses, she sighed and deleted what she had written again. This time she switched around the sentence structure and eventually concluded that it was good enough and clicked send.

Across the office, the swoosh of the automatic doors opening pulled her attention away from her computer, and after extending her neck above the cubicle, she saw a familiar flash of forest green scales at the entrance. With a click, the lights throughout the office thudded to life and cast the workplace in a cool white glow. "Oh my god, where the fuck did they put it now?" came a frustrated hiss from the new arrival, followed by a series of muffled thuds. Craning her neck higher, Reeva tried to see what the commotion was and saw a tail flick up above the dividers. "There you are," the voice added before exhaling a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay–?"

"Oh mah lord!" exclaimed the voice, followed by the drake lifting his head up above the dividers to see who had spoken. "Oh, Reeva, Girl you scared me. Sorry, I didn't know you were in," exclaimed the drake before flashing a guilty smile. "Whatchu doing here so early? You did actually go home last night, right?" he asked and began to cruise down the aisle that bisected the office.

"Oh, I wasn't sure if the storm would hit or not, and I didn't want to be late if I had to walk…" Reeva explained and quickly hid the Dragonball game with another window as her boss turned the corner to drift towards her cubicle. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Same, flying in a storm ain't a bother, but getting to work soaked isn't really professional, is it?" he asked rhetorically and pulled up next to the opening of her cubicle. Respectfully, Reeva tried not to let her eyes linger on the drake's lack of forelegs or the two-wheeled apparatus that he rested his chest on. Built similar to a unicycle humans might ride in the circus, except instead of a saddle, a padded U-shaped cradle wrapped around the keel of the drake's ribcage and spread the weight across his chest. Likewise, instead of a single wheel, two large spoked wheels were mounted at the end of an extension tube to offer stability while allowing him to move around. Whenever he walked with the wheel brace on, his hind legs did the majority of the work, but on the few occasions she had seen him without it, Tiizome could walk with his folded wings acting as forelegs. She hadn't asked what had happened to the drake's front that had left Tiizome with only his hind legs and wings, as a good moment had never presented itself, and as he was her boss, it felt even more awkward. "Also, I've got an eight o'clock meeting, remember?" he added and tilted his head.

"Ah… do you?" Reeva asked hesitantly as she turned back to her computer and minimised a few windows. In doing so she briefly revealed the Dragonball game and prayed that he hadn't seen it. Opening up their shared calendar, she scanned the screen and shook her head. "No, you have nothing booked until ten. That breakfast television thing is next week, and it's tomorrow you're meant to be meeting with Senator Hooran, but that's in person."

"Really? I thought that was today?" Tiizome asked and curled his head under a wing to extract a large flat tablet with his mouth. Its rubberised case made a dull thud as he dropped it on the ground in front of him, and then, while using the talons on the ends of his wing wrists, tapped at the screen. "Ha… yeah, you're right. Oh, is it really Janice's birthday today?" he asked as he scrolled through his calendar.

"Yeah, I've got a few signatures on a card for her. I’ll get it to you before lunch, and I've booked a cake to get delivered at eleven. Dairy, gluten, salt and sugar free because that's her allergy of the month. I expect there will be leftovers," Reeva explained, earning a small chuckle from the two-legged drake. "And I have finance hounding me for a signature for that audit you wanted done. I told them I'll have it back to them by the end of the day," she continued while shuffling her wings. She didn't like starting her day with a list of things for her boss, but he didn't seem to mind and nodded along while tapping at the screen of his tablet.

"Do you know if we made any progress on the guest list for the gala?" he asked, and Reeva’s neck frill flattened as she shook her head. "I’ll see if I can call in some favors. Most of the politicians won't come for just a free dinner. They love meeting celebs; makes ‘em feel like they are important," he continued with a scoff. "Thank you, Reeva," he added before nodding towards her computer screen. "How goes the game?"

Reeva's frill betrayed her as it flicked up to full height, but the drake's playful smirk made it clear that she wasn't really in any trouble. After all, it was before work hours and wasn't distracting anyone else. "Oh, it's just an exhibition game and it ended a few hours ago, but I've been avoiding the news." She started, and when the drake looked expectantly at her she nodded and continued. "So far so good. Cresties are putting on a good show. Not their best performance, but the team they are playing against aren't really challenging them," Reeva explained and turned back to bring up the screen so her boss could see.

"A bit of a Cresties fan, are you?" Tiizome asked while cocking his head. "I could have sworn you were more of a Nixi–"

"A Nixie? What? Because of my scales?" Reeva retorted in exaggerated offence. It was true that her sea-green scales matched almost perfectly to the colours of the Northern Nixies, and that many dragons gravitated towards teams they identified with, but the fierce rivalry between the Cresties and Nixies made her balk and scoff. "Nah-nah-nah, Tiizy, I like to win!" she added, making her boss laugh. "Who do you roar for?” she asked with a smirk, parroting the infectious ads that had been prominent in the game’s marketing.

"Oh, I'm a Warbler, through and through–" he was cut off by a disapproving glare from Reeva and grinned comically. "Hey, you know every game we play is memorable, I just wish that we could finish a season every now and again," he continued sheepishly as she shook her head in disbelief. "Oh come on, you know the sport used to be more brutal, back before all these fancy pads and penalties. The Warblers show us what it used to be like–"

"They're people, Tiizome! When they get rotated out, sometimes they aren't flying again, I thought—" She cut herself off from saying that he should be against dragons being crippled. When her boss tilted his head to one side again with a veiled attempt to look confused, she knew that he hadn't taken offence. "Oh you know what I mean, the Warblers are just dumb brutes who get views because they hurt people. I had you down as someone who liked the more elegant approach to life."

"Reeva, bless yer heart, Momma didn't raise no fool. Now see here, dem demolition derbies an' monster trucks an' cage fightin' and dragonballin'... ah... that righ' there were the bees knees. Sweeter n' honeysuckle. You drag a drake outta the south by 'is tail but you ain't gonna drag the south outta the drake." Tiizome rambled with a southern drawl so convincing that Reeva wasn't completely sure if he was joking or not.

"And here I was thinking that you were sophisticated, starting this whole place by yourself. Should I make your next appointment via flash card or something?" Reeva teased and was grateful that the drake roared laughing. Despite being her boss and the head of the foundation, they had both joked on multiple occasions, and she felt like she had a good handle on how far she could push him while outside the company of others.

"No, that won't be necessary, but I might need you to restock the stationery cupboard after lunch. Those red crayons are gonna look tasty after Janice's cake," he replied, losing his southern accent and making Reeva cackle briefly before she lifted her head and confirmed they were indeed alone. "Besides, I can't trust you Cresties with anything red. You will be scribbling on the walls your logos and then burning the place down when you lose," he teased with a toothy smile and nodded back to her screen. "Who's your favourite?"

His question made Reeva's frill flatten against her neck in mild embarrassment, and she briefly looked back at the screen to see Meegi giving chase to a New Zealand player who had managed to steal a ball. "Oh, ah well…" she stammered before swallowing and turning back to Tiizome. "I went to school with Meegi, we were in the same grade."

"Oooohhhoooo," Tiizome cooed in a childish tone before shuffling his hind legs forwards to sit down on his haunches. "Did you have a crush on him? Guuurl, you did! didn't you?!" he continued, his southern accent making an appearance once more. Her boss's tone made Reeva's snout darken and a coy smirk pull at her lips, which he picked up on and continued. "Oh! Handsome drake with his smooth…” Tiizome paused briefly to look past her and at the screen before grinning, “tan scales and mane of luscious hair, I bet he was the cool kid at school, wasn't he?"

"Yeah, he kinda was," Reeva admitted but shook her head and turned back to glance at the screen and the drop-down button to change camera angle to another player. It had been years since she had spoken to him, but she still remembered how giddy he had made her feel at the time. After all this time, much of the feeling had faded, yet she still found herself drawn to watch the feed from his horn camera during each game. "But not in a stuck-up way. He was pretty normal all things considered," she mused before turning back to face her boss, who had a knowing look on his snout. "It was a long time ago, I've moved on," she said with genuine conviction. "Besides, he is with the owner's daughter, and I swear she got dropped as an egg or something. Nasty bitch, that one."

"Uh-huh," Tiizome teased and stood back up as she glared at him. "Oh I'm sure she is an absolute horrible piece of work," he added in a clearly unconvinced voice. "Stealing your drake from ya, like who could do that!" He added with a chuckle and then used a folded wing to point towards the screen. "Although, are you still in contact with Meegi? He would be a good addition to the gala. I know at least two senators who love Dragonball. He could be a good ambassador for the cause."

Shaking her head, Reeva let out a small sigh of defeat. "I tried when I first started, but all I got back was this really generic reply that said he wasn't available. I guess he has got his own thing going on now," Reeva explained and shrugged her wings. "I can try again though, no harm right?"

"Who knows, maybe he's changed his mind. If we are ever going to get any real traction on this, we need people that our fearless leaders admire. It's the only way to get their attention without copious amounts of money," Tiizome mused and rocked back and forth on his wheel brace while looking at the side of her cubicle with unfocused eyes. "I might see if I can find some ex-players who are interested. There has to be some who want mixed marriage to be a thing, and the senators are old fucks anyway, so they might listen to a player from the ‘good ol' days’, that sorta thing," he added while twitching his wing talons to do air quotes.

The soft sound of rain drumming against the glass pulled both of their attentions away from the conversation and made them look towards the window. For now the weather was still flyable, but judging by the way the thick storm clouds were brewing, that didn't look like it would be the case for long.