-slides in months later- yo

Like always, no beta so all mistakes are mine

Harry sighed in irritation, dragging the piles of soft material out of his nest for the umpteenth time. The annual Mate Flight was just in a few days, and while he did truly want to find a mate and kits with them. He just hated having to make any attempt to create an inviting nest. Overly large nests with too much material, which was currently the style, was just too much in his honest opinion.

Scrubbing his talons through his hair, Harry made one last attempt in making the perfect nest. Just wide enough for him and his future mate to lay in, but small enough that they could cuddle against each other. Just the right amount of soft, materials to be comfortable; but not too much to overflow. The walls were tall and deep enough that Harry could just peek out when standing up. Wide enough for his longer than average wingspan.

Stepping out of his nest, Harry gave one last critical look over before nodding in satisfaction. Finally happy, he stretched himself out on the bedding of his nest, marking everything with his scent.

Only a few more days until the Mate Flight, maybe he'll finally be caught by someone who could keep up with him? Harry highly doubted that, as one out of a very small handful of Stormcrest Flyers left in the world, there just weren't any other species of dragonkin fast enough to catch him. And as all the remaining Stormcrest Flyers were nesters, like him, there wasn't anyway of finding a mate the regular way.

A pity, really, Harry thought drowsily. He would've loved the kind of mate chase his parents had had, riding the storms and being chased around thunder and lightning and gale force winds. But his parents had been one of the last full Stormcrest pairings before they had been murdered by rogue mages for their hides, horns, and storm-based magic. A tragedy that had the full power of all three Councils strike down on the rogues and their accomplices, as well as anyone who had benefited from his parents murder.

Falling asleep to those thoughts, he hoped for a future that would bring him happiness and joy, to overshadow the sadness his life started from.

Harry woke up bright and early on the day of the Mate Flight, having spent the last days preparing for anything to happen. From him finally being caught by a new mate to the ever-present disappointment of yet again not being caught like he'd dealt with for the last seven mating seasons.

He had spent yesterday evening with Sirius and Remus, the mated pair who had adopted him when his parents were murdered when he was a kit. They were a strange pair, Sirius being a rather cheerful Blackice Fury and Remus being a more laidback Firebone Winger; they had been part of the same weyr as his parents and had literally fought the Council to raise Harry. Something that rarely happened in the now more "modern" times, where dragons, humans, and dragonkin lived amongst each other without fear; well mostly. Mages still kept toeing the line.

Shaking the dark thoughts away, Harry began preparing for the Flight taking place later on that day. Stretching his wings out, lightly fanning them out as a small warm-up. The bright morning sun caused his scales (wing and body) to shine, their dark storm grey lightening up and allowing his unusual accent colors of green and white-yellow to really shine. His wings were long and slightly narrow, built for speed and long-distance flights.

Growing an inch past his temples and above his pointed ears, were two sets of horns, one pair longer than the other. The longer pair curved backwards several inches and ended at an upwards point a couple inches above his head; the shorter pair grew right in front of the longer pair, and grew upwards for a few inches and came at a check like point at their ends. His tail was long and had three pairs of fanned fins at the end, to help Harry while he maneuvered in the air when flying.

His scales were heavily scattered on his body, ending with his arms, slightly above his elbows down, and his legs, lower thigh down, being more draconic in nature; ending in dexterous claws. Talon thick nails graced his fingers and soft, pads on the underside of his hands. He had some scales on his face, like human freckles across his nose bridge and in a jagged pattern from his temples to his jawline.

What wasn't covered in scales, was of a dark golden brown skin tone with bright slitted storm green eyes and black messy hair, a jagged lightning scar branching across half his forehead and down to his chin.

With his longer-than-average wingspan, unusual secondary scale coloring, and scar; Harry was considered to be the most attractive Stormcrest Flyer, with the other nesters always complimenting on his features with barely hidden jealousy and admiration. And yet, he was still unmated compared to them. Not only that, he was one of three unmated Stormcrest Flyers and the other two were too young to join the Mate Flight for another few years.

Frowning at where his thoughts had strayed, Harry pushed them away and refocused on the now. He still had time to find a mate, but he couldn't deny he was jealous of those who had found mates already. Stretches done, he moved on to bathing and getting dressed into only a pair of loose drawstring shorts. Barefoot, Harry padded out of his nesting area to fly towards a lightly forested cliff side (several long minutes by flight away), this years starting point, wings vibrating in the building excitement.

He was joined by the other nesters, their excited chattering and laughs echoing through the forest. Dragonkin of all species came for the annual Mate Flight, from the truly massive Stonehorn Ironbones to the itty bitty Windfrill Stingers; nocturnal and diurnal and those in between came to the Mate Flight. As a Stormcrest Flyer, Harry was on the smaller scale for a dragonkin; like his dragon equivalent, the Stormsinger, Harry was built for speed and short bursts of battle. Though, he did have a pair of longer canines that carried a mild venom, that was for battling only.

All the nesters gathered around the forest's edge, wings shifting in anticipation. Standing before them, back towards the cliff's edge, grey haired and white-gold scaled, draped in a loose tunic-style robe, was a mated nester bearing the mark of the Council of Dragonkin on their chest. They grinned, bearing their sharp fangs.

"In just a few short minutes, the bells will ring to announce the beginning of the annual Mate Flight! I welcome all of you! Now, please, do be careful when you fly off, wings can get tangled up if you're not careful. So, do take care to watch who is next to you." They told them in a cheerful tone, wings rustling as they moved about.

The sound of bells echoed through the forest, stirring something inside of all of them.

Clapping, the Councilor took a step back, "The annual Mate Flight is begun! Fly fast, fly hard, and make them work for it!" they called out as the nesters ran towards the cliff to launch themselves into the air.

Harry waited for those who were eager or impatient, nodded at a few of the older nesters who, like him, hadn't been caught by anyone. Several long minutes passed before he finally had the room to swiftly launch himself off the cliff and into the air. His wings snapped open, catching the drifts and bringing him to a higher altitude. He watched as nesters soared around the area, flirting and singing and laughing. Enticing the still hidden bucks.

Harry made a face before joining in, singing in a softer voice and tilting his body in the right way to make the sun glint off his scales and wings. He still didn't expect anything to happen, but he would still try his damnedest. The nesters flew around in tight and loose circles close to the area that the bucks were grouped, letting the wind bring their scents and voices to them.

Finally, a deeper gong rang out, the signal for the bucks to dive off and finally give chase to whichever nester caught their attention. Harry watched from his higher altitude, wings steady and body loose. His keen eyesight taking it all in, which is why he was surprised when he noticed a buck catching air drifts that allowed them to reach higher altitudes; like Harry.

Narrowing his eyes at the figure growing closer, Harry shifted his wings enough to catch another air drift and swept upwards several feet higher. He watched the buck take notice of his own movement and watched as they adjusted themselves to reach him. Harry took in his surroundings, making quick calculations before he made a decision. This was the first buck to take any interest in him in three Mate Flights. Snapping his wings closed, he dropped into a dive, making sure to go past the buck to get a sense of who exactly they could be.

His eyes briefly met red-tinged black eyes, his keen eyes taking in the buck's all black appearance within milliseconds. Well, damn. A Nightbone Striker, they so rarely left their territories that the last one to come to a Mate Flight was literal centuries ago.

"Fuck," the buck breathed out, Harry just catching it as he continued to dive closer and closer to the waves beneath. He felt a small grin come across his face. Twisting out of his steep dive, Harry rolled to get a better look at the buck.

Who was now diving to reach him, a determined expression on his face.

Adrenaline rushing through him, Harry quickly caught another air drift and used a bit of his storm-based magic to propel himself to higher heights. Again, he caught the barely heard curse from buck, who used his wider wings to catch the wind and took after him.

Harry took many twists and turns, always keeping an eye on the buck who still persisted. Every now and then, Harry would take a steep dive, always pulling up at the very last second. His wings skimmed the waves or the treetops, depending on when he dove. And each time, the buck followed him or attempted to catch him when he dove close to the buck.

He laughed, his tail fins flared to their fullest as he made more daring maneuvers. And yet, the buck still persisted. More determined at each close encounter. Eyes sharp and dark with his intentions. Still Harry was faster than the buck.

That's when he sensed it, a storm coming in quick and dirty. He took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He could taste the electricity of the lightning, the bitter sharp cold of the rain, the harsh grit of the wind stirring up to epic proportions. A fierce fanged grin stole across his face. Yes, this is exactly what he wanted.

He changed directions, heading for the storm coming upon them on swift winds. The buck gave an even harsher, loud curse from behind him.

Harry laughed aloud, calling out to the buck, "I hope you're prepared for a proper Mate chase, Nightbone buck! After all, storms are my domain!" before pouring his magic into his wings and dove straight into the dark storm clouds, already rumbling with thunder and flashing with lightning.

He didn't hear the buck's answer, not really needing to. He basked for several, sweet seconds in the energy of the storm before he felt the buck enter. Laughing again, Harry swept his wings and rolled in mid-air, the buck's grab aborted by his movement. Tail giving a cheeky flip, Harry dove even further into the storm.

This time, he pulled out every move he knew. Twisting, turning, diving, he kept the buck on his wing tips. Even daringly tweaking the others tail tip before quickly executing a quick barrel roll to get out of reach. All the while, the storm raged around them. Pelting them with bitter cold rain. Blinding them with blinding flashes of lightning, that left an electric aftertaste on Harry's tongue. Shaking their very bones with booming thunder that seemed to quake the very air.

Until finally, Harry made the mistake of hovering in place for a few precious seconds to soak in the magic of the storm. Seconds the buck took advantage of and figuratively pounced on him. Arms, wings, and tail wrapped around Harry, causing them to drop into a steep, breath shattering dive. They locked eyes, bright storm green fully meeting red-tinged black. They took in sync deep breaths before Harry unfurled his wings to their full length and caught them on an air draft.

Still the storm went on above them.

Harry broke into a breathtaking grin, his sharp fangs and canines on fully display.

"You caught me," he breathed happily out into their cocoon.

The buck gave him a small smile in return, "You were worth the chase."

Laughing, Harry used his magic to speed them back into the storm. He stared deeply into those dark eyes.

"I'm Harry, Stormcrest Flyer nester from the Windseeker Weyr. I want our first mating to take place in this storm." he introduced himself to his mate.

Dark eyes crinkled, "I'm Shouta, Nightbone Striker buck, from the Ashdrifter Weyr." his mate, Shouta replied in kind before shifting a hand up to his face. Leaning forward, he pressed their lips together in a soft kiss.

Harry kissed him back, humming. There was a shift in Shouta's wings before he unwrapped them from Harry, keeping their tails intertwined. The kiss grew, mouths opening and tongues clashing. Thankful that his battle fangs were locked away, he nipped at Shouta's bottom lip. He felt more than heard, the growl Shouta released into their kiss before he found himself pressed tighter to his mate's body.

Hissing a breath out, Harry pulled away slightly, hips grinding against the hard bulge he felt against his own. He gripped Shouta tighter, talons digging into the other's back between his wings. Shouta growled again, sharp fangs dragging down Harry's neck. Roughly shoving their shorts off, Harry let them fall and be swept away by the harsh winds of the storm.

Their naked bodies ground against one another, barely cut off groans being fed into their mouths. Wings flapped strongly in the gale force winds, Harry's subtly maneuvering with the twists and turns, Shouta's larger ones keeping them steady. Wrapping a leg around a thick waist, Harry silently demanded more.

Shouta dragged a hand down his back, fingers slipping between his legs and finding him wet and dripping. They plunged into his hole, gently yet quickly preparing him for their mating. The storm was reaching its zenith, when finally Shouta slipped inside Harry. Bottoming out in one, smooth thrust.

Throwing his head back on a loud moan, Harry stared up into the storm, blind to all but the pleasure Shouta gave him. Hips snapped against his ass, thrusting in time with the rumble and roar of the thunder. He clawed at Shouta's shoulders and back, talons digging deep and blood running from the wounds. Cold sharp rain pelted them harshly, stingy the cuts yet adding more to Shouta's pleasure.

He groaned deep in his chest, wings furiously beating to keep them aloft as he thrust as deeply as possible into Harry. Tails intertwined, twitching as the pleasure grew. Energy pooled in Harry's core, growing and growing the closer he grew to climax.

With one last mighty boom of thunder, they shuddered their releases into the storm. Shouta biting deeply into the meat of Harry's right shoulder, marking him for all time as his mate. Harry cried out, his high cry echoed by the final crack of lightning and he bit Shouta's chest, over where his heart beat in time with the dying storm.

Locked together, they swayed in the last remnants of the storm, wings catching the drafts and allowing themselves to be swept away. Harry rested his head against Shouta's shoulder, mild shudders still shaking his body from the rush. Shouta gently carded his talons through Harry's hair, digging his pads into his neck every now and then.

Releasing a sigh, Harry turned his head to lay a soft kiss against Shouta's stubbled jaw, "I have a nest that I would happily share with you." he spoke softly, voice rough from his earlier cries.

Shouta moved his head enough to look down into storm green eyes. His dark eyes smiled, "I would gladly share your nest and more, with you for all time and beyond, if you'll have me."

Grinning, Harry gave him a smacking kiss on the lips.

"Hello, my mate. I welcome you to my nest and life, may the storms always give way to warmer days for our lives." Harry spoke seriously, the mating words of a Stormcrest.

"Hello, my mate. I thank you for bringing me into your nest and life. May the darkest of nights fade away into a brighter dawn for our lives," Shouta intoned the words of a Nightbone back at Harry, just as serious.

Losing the fight to keep his grin, Harry grabbed Shouta's hands and led the way back to his nest. The start of his new life began and he could only look forward to what happened next. He glanced back at Shouta, liking the way his dark eyes lightened up and seemed to smile.

Yes, today was a wonderful start of the rest of his life.