Kaarif ignored the glances from the humans in the elevator, as he silently mouthed the lyrics to the song that blasted through his headphones. The young aquatic drake sat at the back of the elevator, his head bouncing and swaying along to the beat as he ascended to his friend's apartment. As the elevator slowed and stopped, his lavender eyes flicked to the LED sign to confirm the floor. One of the humans smirked at him as they exited, leaving the drake alone in the elevator to continue his journey.

The silvery drake waited until the doors closed, before rising to his feet and beginning to dance to the beat. With mirrors on all sides of the elevator, he imagined himself in a club with aquatic dragons surrounding him. Rocking his hips from side to side and flicking his tail to and fro, he stepped quickly on the spot to the rhythm of the silent disco. Closing his eyes, he lifted his head as the beat increased, the rapid tempo of drums and synth built in energy as the bass prepared to drop. Holding his head high with his frill fully extended, he waited as the tension grew before slamming his head down with the reverberating bass and continued to dance on the spot.

His eyes opened at the sound of the doors opening and he stopped dancing. Slipping a paw up under his frill, he moved his headphones off of his ear holes and let them hang around his neck.

Glancing at the LED sign above the door, he confirmed he was at the right floor and stepped out into the wide hallway. The corridor was large enough for two dragons to pass with ease and he found his webbed paws sinking slightly into the thick carpet. Still humming the song he had been listening to, he happily trotted toward the familiar door halfway down the corridor and pressed a talon against the doorbell.

Opening the door, Reeva's father smiled as he looked down at the small drake. “Oh, hi Kaarif! Perfect timing," he said, turning to call back over his shoulder. “Reeva! Kaarif is here. I'll see you at sundown."

Kaarif chuckled, lifting a forepaw to Neebis and curling his digits into a rough fist for the older drake to bump. “Don't worry, big N, I'll show her a good time and make sure she is home by sunset," he said playfully, causing the white dragon's crimson neck frill to flick up.

Neebis' eyes widened, but a voice from inside the apartment caused him to pause. “Kaarif! Oh my god!" Reeva exclaimed loudly from deep within the apartment, her tone sounding just like her mother's.

Shaking his head to clear his mind of him barging in on Meegi, Neebis looked the young drake up and down before nodding and bumping his larger paw with the friendly drake. “Keep her out of trouble, will you?"

“I'll try," Kaarif grinned, stepping aside for the white drake to leave.

Neebis stepped out and turned around, poking his head back through the door as Kaarif entered. “Have fun at the game, you two," he said cheerfully, closing the door with the pair inside.

Reeva came trotting into the living room and saw Kaarif down the corridor, grinning madly. “Show me a good time, eh? You're ridiculous!" she said with a smirk.

“I'm amazing!" Kaarif retorted and ruffled his frilled collar. As he came prancing down the corridor towards her, he saw her already wearing her school harness complete with all of its pouches for schoolwork. “You're not going out with your harness like that, are you?" he asked, seeing her frill droop against her neck.

“What do you mean? I just got the pouches set up how I like them," she retorted, but with a twinge of doubt in her voice.

Kaarif shook his head with a weak smile, “Like, you could go out like that. But we aren't going to school, you don't need all these pouches."

“We are going to school though, that's where the game is-"

“You know what I mean," Kaarif retorted, “Come on, drop the rig, let me help," he said and walked past her towards the couch before patting the ground for her to come over.

Feeling self-conscious, Reeva followed her friend. She had spent all morning polishing and cleaning her scales, horns, and talons for the game and her study session with Meegi afterwards, but hadn't given her harness any thought. Looking at Kaarif's harness, while made of simple canvas, it had a brand in large print that made it expensive and he had one tidy matching pouch mounted against his chest for his belongings, a stark contrast to hers which now felt very bulky and conspicuous. 

Coming to a halt in the middle of her living room, she unbuckled her harness and let it fall to the floor with a soft thud and stepped out of the leg loops to let Kaarif inspect it. “Now, let's lighten this up a bit. You want to make a good impression for Meegi," Kaarif said with a grin.

“And since when were you a harness expert?" Reeva asked with a raised eye ridge, as Kaarif began unbuckling the pouches one by one and tossing them into a pile.

“First of all, I never said I was an expert," Kaarif chuckled, “but I've read my fair share of harness magazines-"

“Oh my god!" Reeva exclaimed and went to snatch her harness out of his paws, but he pulled it closer to his chest.

“Hey-hey-hey. I read them for the articles," Kaarif said despite his snout darkening, the pearly silver scales now had a slight pink hue. “Besides, I'm a drake, I know what drakes like."

Reeva chuckled and shook her head, “Well, a 'ness likes to have pouches."

The silvery drake arched his neck pompously and looked down his nose, despite the dragoness being taller than him. “Tsk-tsk, a 'ness must make sacrifices for fashion, 'tis the way," he said, before the pair laughed at his antics.

“Prat," she said simply, sitting on her haunches to help him unbuckle the few remaining pouches. Looking at her friend, she noticed the harness he wore was a striking green. While bold, it didn't complement his colors very well at all. “Is that a new harness?" she asked before focusing on a stubborn buckle.

Slipping a paw under one of the canvas straps that ran across his chest, he grinned. “Oh? This little number?" he asked, maintaining his pompous routine. “I picked it up in this lovely marketplace in Brazil; Daddy and I were there for the Dragonball cup. Argentina played Brazil, it was absolutely delightful," he said and tilted his head upwards.

Reeva giggled at his impression before frowning. Tilting her head slightly, she tilted it to read the label on his shoulder. “Wait, so it's fake then?" she asked, seeing his eyes bulge.

Kaarif looked offended and lifted a paw to his chest, “No! It's not fake-"

“Isn't there a double R somewhere in Burberry?" she asked, looking at the designer brand's bold text written down the shoulder strap of his harness and roared with laughter as he dropped what he was doing to whip his head down to see if she was joking.

Blushing profusely, Kaarif chuckled, “You almost had me there," he said with a weak smile. “No, it's not fake, I promise."

“Except it's the colors of the Western Wyverns, the team we are playing against," Reeva said confidently, untangling her harness straps to lay it flat on the ground.

“Oh, is it? I didn't notice," Kaarif said sarcastically with a playful grin. “Wait!" he announced, pointing a paw at her, “You have done some homework! Haven't you?" he added, giggling as her frill perked up.

“So, now I don't have any pouches left. What is your-" her words drifted off, as she saw her friend grinning profusely at her attempt to change the subject. “Okay, fine! I maaaay have done a bit of homework."

Adopting a mocking tone, he rocked his head from side to side. “It's too barbaric, my mother doesn't let me watch it, blar blar blar," he said while she chuckled. “But one date with Meegi, and now you're a fan."

“It wasn't a-"

“Uh-huh, keep telling yourself that, girl," Kaarif retorted, pushing the pile of empty pouches towards her. “Call it what you want, but I'll make ya look good. Pick two."

Reeva looked crestfallen at the pile of pouches. “Only two?" she gasped. Whether they were for carrying textbooks, assignments, pens, or supplies, each pouch served a purpose for her day-to-day life and the idea of going out without a full harness made her shudder.

“Two, because I'm feeling generous," Kaarif said firmly and looked over the pouches. “Preferably ones that match." He added as he realized that despite her pouches being black, they were all different shades and had different buckles. "Wow, your pouches are really all over the place."

“Hey! I like them," Reeva retorted defensively. Some of the pouches held memories for her, purchased on family vacations or at key milestones of her life. Even the smallest one, that she used to carry loose change, was from the first harness she had ever flown with. Due to her underdeveloped wing muscles, she had been reluctant to buy a full set and her parents had instead bought them all separately. As different designs and trends came and went, she now had a mismatched collection of pouches. “But if I had to pick two…" she muttered and used a paw to sift through the pile of leather and nylon pouches. “These!" She said and withdrew two that looked the most grown-up.

Kaarif held out his paw for the two and spun her harness rig around. On the back of each pouch was a strap to secure them to the harness and he quickly secured them on her waist straps. “There! Get that on you," he said and slid the harness back to her.

Using a paw, she opened up the leg loops before stepping into the harness and pulling it up over her shoulders. “That isn't where I would put them," she mused and curled around to buckle the final strap over her rump. While she would have pouches all over her harness, she would always have her main pouches on her shoulders to make it easier to get things out, having one on either side of her waist now, made her feel oddly exposed. With them nestled in front of her hips, she stretched her hind legs forward and back to make sure the pouches were not in the way but also discovered that with her wings folded, the bags were almost invisible.

Rocking her hips from side to side and giving a small hop with her back legs, she made sure they were sitting right. “Not exactly practical."

“Reeva, it's not meant to be. But now you can show off your shoulders and chest without having all these pouches in the way," Kaarif said while looking at her with a critical eye. “Hold still." He added and stepped in front of her. Sitting on his haunches, he reached with his forepaws and adjusted the straps on her harness so the buckles were at even lengths. “There!" he announced happily.

Reeva smiled warmly at her friend, “Thanks, Kaarif, I really appreciate it."

“Pfft, it's nothing. What are friends for" Kaarif said with a dismissive wave of his paw. 

“No really, you're a really good friend." She corrected, as she remembered what school was like without his cheerful, yet playfully sarcastic remarks. Without the small drake by her side, she tried to stay invisible at school and she knew that she would never work up the courage to go to a Dragonball game if it wasn't for him. 

With a small smile and a nod, he told her he knew what she meant before grinning. “Now! The 'ness is all dressed up, time to go to the ball… game."

The school's Dragonball field looked almost foreign with the number of dragons and humans who had turned out to show their support. During school hours, the seating was off-limits and always barren, but now it was almost full of patrons, creating an electric atmosphere.

Reeva couldn't stop herself from smiling as she followed Kaarif through the crowd. Loud terrace chants echoed back and forth across the stadium as fans of each team bellowed their support. Stepping past a human vendor who was selling overpriced jerky from a tray suspended around his neck, Reeva had to push her way past another dragon as Kaarif easily weaved his way through to their spot.

“I told you we were going to be late!" She called out to the pearlescent drake, who had climbed to the next row of seats to get past a large dragon and their family. Due to the large number of dragons in the audience, taking off and landing inside the stadium was forbidden, except in the event of an emergency. As Reeva squeezed past another family, she shook her head, realizing Kaarif hadn't heard her.

She gasped as she was shoved by another dragon and glared at them as they apologized, but had to quickly scamper to catch up with her friend. Clearly, Kaarif knew where the best seats were and she wormed her way past another group before bounding after him. Climbing higher and higher up the seating, they made their way toward the middle of the stadium, where the teams' holding cages were located. While many human sports had their dugouts at ground level with the field, the Dragonball teams each had their area halfway up the stadium seating, which allowed them to fly in and out as needed. However, their area was caged off from the audience so the spectators could see what was going on but could not throw objects at the players who failed to perform.

On either side and on the row above the teams' cage were seats reserved for VIPs and Reeva frowned as Kaarif confidently approached the roped-off section. Standing just inside the VIP seating, and acting as security, was Mr. Siigma. The gray and white drake surveying the crowd for any troublemakers with his stern gaze, before locking eyes with Kaarif.

Standing confidently in front of his teacher, Kaarif waited for Reeva to catch up before smiling up at Mr. Siigma. “Don't worry Mr. S, she's with me," he said as if the roped-off area was a nightclub.

Frowning down at the aquatic drake, their teacher lowered his head down to Kaarif's height. “If I were you, I would be taking the opportunity to work on your assignment. Or are you letting Tiiphani do all the work? Like you do to Reeva?"

“Nah, this is all part of my homework, you'll see!" Kaarif grinned, and they both saw a smile flicker on the stern teacher's snout.

The pair nodded in thanks as Mr. Siigma stepped aside and let them into the restricted area. Trotting up alongside him, Reeva leaned close to him. “So, how do you get permission to be here?" she asked, sitting right above and behind the caged area for the team; they had some of the best seats in the stadium.

“Girl, ya hang with me, ya get the nicer things," he said and stepped onto a cushion. Its bright blue vinyl squeaked under his paws, but he proceeded to sit on the symbol of a white, wingless dragon stitched into the cushion. Patting the cushion for her to join him, Reeva shook her head in disbelief.

“I thought these spots were for disabled dragons," she mused and stepped onto the large cushion beside her friend.

“Disabled, wingless, VIP, what's the difference?" Kaarif grinned. “I'm not complaining," he added and gave a nod towards the view of the game.

Reeva could now see what he meant. With the players' cage just below them, they had an unobstructed view of where the team's reserve players were waiting. Additionally, the view of the field was completely unobstructed. The large oval stretched out before them; at each end, three pillars rose up as goals, complete with small platforms at their tops for the brooders to perch on.

The pair shuffled back on their cushion as more dragons and a human walked into the VIP section. As the man walked past them and took his seat, Reeva's stomach tightened as a familiar dragoness and her father walked past. “Gosh, they just let anyone up here now, don't they?" Tiiphani said in disbelief, with an exaggerated sigh.

Before Reeva could retort, Kaarif stood up. “Oh Tiiphani, sorry. They have seats for the wingless and the disabled, but not for basic 'nesses. Should I go find an usher? I can see if they can find somewhere for you," he said with a polite bow and a flourish of his paw.

Tiiphani opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced when a snort of amusement came from her father. Looking mortified, she snapped her head around and looked up at the wealthy drake. “Daddy-"

“Enough," he said sternly. “You are above this," he added and draped a wing over her. With confident strides and his neck curled back in a tight 'S' shape, the owner of the famous Cresties Dragonball team led his daughter to their designated seats and sat down. As Tiiphani glared at Kaarif and Reeva from under her father's wing, the larger drake retrieved a slim tablet from his smart leather harness and began tapping away at the screen. 

Trying to contain her laughter and avoid eye contact with Tiiphani, Reeva stared straight ahead with a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips. “The field feels larger from up here," Reeva remarked, as Kaarif sat back down. She scanned the field and took stock of the markings on the grass. Each of the three pillars had a circle painted around its base to indicate the zone where a claimer and brooder would battle it out over the egg perched on the platform. Looking closely, Reeva could see the metal helical structure that wrapped around the clear pillars to provide support, while the thick transparent inner tube was used to pneumatically send new eggs up to the platform above.

Kaarif observed as the teal dragoness scanned the field and then peered down into the players' cage below. “He won't be here yet," he said, noting her drooping frill. “The reserve players chill in the cage until they are needed, but the primary players will give us a bit of an entrance before the game," he explained.

Reeva nodded and surveyed the two ends of the field. “So, correct me if I'm wrong: the Brooders each have their own nests to protect," she said, gesturing toward the three pillars at one end. “The Claimers have to go into the zone, get the egg without being taken out, and then fly all the way back to the other side, without being intercepted by the other team's Claimers, and place the egg on their own team's nests."

Kaarif smiled proudly. “Well done! Yes, three nests, three Brooders. When the game starts, you will see some lights around the nests light up. Because the nests get locked out when an egg is taken or they are defended, they light up green when available but will flash red when there is a Claimer in the zone. Once it goes solid red though, it means either the Claimer's time is up and they have to do a penalty lap, or the egg has been taken and the nest is locked out for six minutes."

Reeva nodded along in understanding, but became distracted when the audience grew louder. When she looked down, she could see the school's band taking position on the edge of the field while the Western Wyverns' band set up across from them. “I think it's about to start!"

"Any minute now, Harpies!" called Coach Daanic, the athletic drake turning to look at the team he had been training in the offseason. The six students, in their rough formation, were stretching their wings and limbering up for the game. With a bone induction speaker mounted to his horn and a throat mic against his neck, the red dragon was ready for the signal to enter the stadium. Even from across the school grounds, they could hear the cheering and beating of drums, as the visiting team performed their entrance routine to hype the crowd and display their prowess.

Looking over his flight, he could see the nervous glances they gave one another. As much as they tried to hide it, they all knew the first game of the season, while only a parade game could be brutal. "Ryylark! Those pads fit okay?" he asked loudly. "Good, don't be afraid to use them, okay?" he added when the young drake nodded.

Meegi looked over to his fellow claimer, the green drake clearly the most nervous of the team. As he locked eyes with him, Meegi gave him a reassuring nod, which Ryylark returned with a smile. Together, the team stood in a double 'V' formation in preparation for their entrance. Meegi was positioned at the tip of the first 'V' with the two claimers Jaalaphin and Ryylark on either side of him, leaving Riikal right behind him to lead the brooders Huune and Miikalah on his flanks.

Tugging a strap on his padding, Meegi rolled his wing shoulders to check for the hundredth time that they were sitting correctly. While the brooders wore thick heavy padding over their entire body, the claimers only wore a series of thin polycarbonate pads that protected their vital organs but allowed them to move their limbs more freely and fly faster. Regardless of their position, however, every dragon wore a helmet that had holes for their horns and, more importantly, muzzled their snouts to stop them from biting their opponents in the heat of the moment.

Time seemed to drag on, as they waited for their cue to fly to the stadium and Meegi found his mind wandering. While fidgeting with the flare strapped to his wrist, he looked off to the side and thought of where Reeva might be in the stadium, smiling slightly at the thought of spending the afternoon working on their assignment together.

“Earth to Meegi!" called Riikal from behind him, causing the rest of the team to focus on the lead claimer. “You good, bro?"

Blinking, Meegi shook his head before nodding. “Yeah, I'm good, just excited."

A smirk pulled at the lead brooder's snout. “Ya better be excited for the game, and nothing else," Riikal teased. “I'm going to need your head in the game." He added and received a nod from their coach who encouraged the team to police themselves.

“Don't worry, Riikal, I won't let those meanies take your eggs," Meegi retorted playfully and grinned when the team chuckled.

“Don't worry about them taking my eggs, that's my job," the brooder said with a grin before tilting his head down and batting his eyes, “but Meegi, I'm thinking today is the day… can you give me an egg?" he said while tracing a talon in the dirt.

Leaning into the banter, Meegi cocked his head. “Oh, Riikal, just one? In ninety minutes, I was planning to give you a whole clutch," he said in a mock sultry tone. The two males laughed as they failed to keep in character.

“You can give me a few eggs too, Meegi, I've got the hips for it," added Miikalah, the burly dragoness holding a serious expression that gave the team pause, before she smiled broadly to show she was joking.

"Sorry, Miikalah, I hear Meegi has eyes for little Reeva," Ryylark chimed in.

"What! That runt—" Miikalah exclaimed suddenly and looked between Ryylark and Meegi.

"Hey! That's not fair," Meegi retorted and saw the team look at him with a raised eyeridge each. "She probably just hatched early or something. But hey, I don't have a thing for her," he lied.

"Uh-huh," teased Ryylark. "We all saw ya talking to her yesterday. It's okay bud, you be you," he said with a smile. "But I prefer a 'ness with a bit more meat on her," he added and found his eyes flicking to Miikalah before blushing. "Oh, I don't mean that, I mean, like in general," he quickly backpedaled.

As the team was about to probe him further, their coach interrupted. "That's enough, show time Harpies," he announced and took his place ahead of Meegi. While facing away, he called back over his shoulder and mantled his wings. "Remember, this is a presentation match. We want to win, but I don't want you injured before the season starts."

Meegi swallowed when he saw the long scar that ran from his coach's wing root and through the membrane, along with the countless smaller scars around his wing joint from the many surgeries that had been needed to restore his flight. Being his final year, Meegi knew that this season was going to be his last chance at being noticed by scouts and despite the sight of the scars on his coaches back, he was determined to show off his talents. Unfurling his wings with his team, they all leapt into the sky, beating their wings in sync as they had practiced many times.

Racing across the school grounds, the team didn't speak. The sounds of the stadium became louder and louder with every wingbeat and with a touch of his paw, he double-checked the flare that was strapped to his wrist instead of his phone. Matching their coach's wingbeats, they picked up speed and approached the top rim of the stadium. Taking a deep breath and clenching his jaw, Meegi pushed aside all thoughts of Reeva, school, or home and instead focused exclusively on the game.

The amplified voice annoying the Liberty Scales High Harpies was drowned out by the roars, cheers, boos, and sneers of the audience inside the stadium. As they skimmed the cheap seats at the top of the stadium, Coach Daanic signaled with his hindpaws, and together they pulled the caps off their flares, before banking over the top of the stadium and beginning their high-speed lap of the oval. The hiss of the red smoke billowing out of Meegi's flare was drowned out by the large kettle drums that boomed throughout the stadium and the deafening cheers from the fans.

Every beat of their wings was timed perfectly with the beat of the drums, and like a war drum calling them to battle, the team raced just above the crowd while trailing colored smoke behind them. With the two 'V' formations at slightly different altitudes, the smoke became layered and, more importantly, didn't obscure the vision of the dragons behind them.

As they raced over the side of the stadium marked for the Western Wyvern supporters, Meegi smiled as a melon was hurled past him. Circling around the three nests at one end of the oval, they banked further to match the profile of the stadium, before easing their turn as they hurtled down the sidelines past their own holding pen. The heavy pounding of drums increased in rhythm and so did the team's wingbeats to showcase their combined speed to the roaring supporters.

With a slight turn of his head, Meegi looked down at the waiting team that stood proudly on the centerline of the field. All of them standing with wings mantled and necks curved in elegant arches, while staring straight ahead and ignoring the Harpies' performance.

With the loud drumbeat growing faster and faster, Meegi and his team pounded their wings to build as much speed as possible. Racing just above the cheering crowd, the team came towards their own nests, before turning sharply towards the crowd and pitching upwards with wings extended as the drums stopped.

The wind rushed past Meegi's horns as they glided up the stadium seating and whooshed past the top lip of the arena. Timed perfectly, their flares spluttered and died as they slowed down to a stall. With a flick of their tails, they rotated together and began plummeting back down towards the field. The roar of the crowd was deafening as the team executed the maneuver with grace, all six of them skimmed just above their supporters, until they came level with the three nests. On cue, the brooders peeled off from the claimers and flared their wings to land on their nests while Meegi, Jaalaphin, Ryylark, and their coach continued down and across the field at speed, as the drums began beating harder and harder.

Flaring their wings, the four dragons landed at a gallop and charged towards the waiting team while keeping their wings mantled to look more intimidating. When the claimers and their coach stopped suddenly at the center line, so did the drums. The entire stadium fell into a brief hushed silence until Riikal, Miikalah, and Huune let out a loud roar, their voices carrying throughout the stadium.

Meegi locked eyes with the lead claimer of the Western Wyverns and smiled when he saw the stoic expression shift as Huune let out a stream of orange flame from his maw. The black dragon's red eyes almost glowing as he discharged the jet of fire, two glands expelling the volatile mixture of chemicals that ignited when combined in the air. As the large brooder stood atop his nest and sustained the flame for as long as he could, he beat his inky black wings to fan the flames and display his might. Finally, after almost a minute, Huune snapped his jaws shut, the metal cage that formed a muzzle around the black dragon's snout now glowing orange after being subjected to his flame. While breathing fire was rare and strictly forbidden in dragonball games, there was nothing in the rules that said it couldn't be used during their entrance and, as the crowd erupted in roars of support, it was clear that the spectators enjoyed the display.

Once the beating of wings against sides had calmed, the three brooders stepped off their nests and swooped down towards the middle of the field to join their claimers for the referee's briefing. Landing with a heavy trot, the brooders took their places next to each claimer and folded their wings tightly against their bodies.

Between the two teams, three adult dragons strode forward, each with black and white markings painted on their wings to indicate their authority. They came from other teams to remain impartial. “Drakes and 'nesses. Let's give these folks a good show," one of the referees said loudly. “Present claws!" He added, and the two teams shuffled forward.

As one referee walked down the middle, the other two split up and walked behind each team. One by one, the players lifted a front paw and a rear for them to be inspected. In addition to the padding they wore, each dragon had claw guards, small rubber spheres with a slot in them worn over each claw. However they did not completely cover the claw and instead ensured that each claw only had a regulated length exposed to reduce the chance of permanent injury. As the referees inspected them, they would occasionally pause to double-check a dragon's talons before moving to the next one. As Meegi lifted his paw, his stomach tightened as the referee stopped and frowned at him. “These are cracked," he said firmly while holding Meegi's paw in his vice-like grip.

Without hesitation, Daanic came bounding over. “What's going on?" The coach asked and moved closer to the referee.

The referee rotated Meegi's paw sharply to show the coach. “Your claimer's claw guards are about to fail-"

“Are they broken?" Daanic asked sharply, holding the referee's gaze.

“Sir, they could break at any-"

“But they are not broken now," snapped Daanic to the referee. His tone and unyielding gaze made it clear that the large red drake was not about to have his star claimer benched. “So he will play."

The referee looked between the coach and the young claimer's paw, considering his options. The sounds of the crowd chanting loudly filled his mind along with the steady beat of drums. “Get them replaced before the next game," he said in defeat and let go of Meegi's paw before he pushed past Daanic to inspect the next in line.

Meegi swallowed and looked up at his coach, who gave him a small wink. He watched as Daanic turned and followed the referee closely to ensure that no one else on his team failed their inspection. Taking a deep breath, Meegi was glad he could play but could feel a knot of anxiety building in his stomach, knowing that he would need to buy more gear.

Once both teams had finished their inspection, the referee mantled his wings and used a paw to press a button on his throat mic. “Alright, Harpies, Wyverns," he said, pausing as his voice was amplified through the speakers throughout the stadium. “Keep it clean, have fun. Coaches, to your holding pens. Claimers, brooders, to your positions," the referee announced. The atmosphere in the stadium was palpable as the two teams turned and took to the sky. The brooders quickly made their way to their nests as the game balls were lifted through the pneumatic tubes up to the raised platforms. Meanwhile, Meegi, Jaalaphin, and Ryylark circled in formation in a defensive position around the rear of their half of the field.

Scanning his opponents, Meegi saw he was the smallest claimer on the field and that he would have to use speed and agility to defeat his opponents. Seeing the three claimers from the Wyverns team spread out along the centerline, he could tell that they were going to be on the offensive quickly and began to formulate a plan.

Reeva watched in bated breath as the two teams prepared to clash. Her heart was hammering in her chest, while she observed the subtle shifts in formation as the two teams tried to position themselves to counter each other's strategies before the match had started. The smoke from the Harpies' entrance had almost completely dissipated, but still left a slight haze in the arena that seemed to magically glow in the sunlight.

“Well, looks like the Wyverns are gonna get some eggs early," exclaimed Kaarif as he looked between the two teams. Seeing the confusion on Reeva's face, he pointed to the Western Wyverns. “See how their Claimers are bigger? They will do better on the offensive. And see the way they are circling near the centerline? It means they are going to go for an early strike. But for some reason, Meegi and his guys are holding back deep in their territory."

Reeva cocked her head. “Maybe they are going to help defend?" she offered.

“Defending doesn't get you points though and I bet those claimers have the endurance to match our team, so they can't even wear them down," Kaarif replied with a hint of defeat in his voice.

Reeva tilted her head from side to side, as she tried to work out their tactic. “Wait… didn't you want the Wyverns to win? Isn't that why you're wearing their colors?" she asked and looked at the aquatic drake, who suddenly looked guilty.

“I—Um… I'm rooting for your boy. You know, being your friend and all," he said meekly and smiled when he knew she had seen through his deceit.

Shaking her head in disbelief, she smiled and looked down at the holding pen below them. Their coach was sitting alongside the reserve players with a stern look on his face; clearly, this game meant a lot to him. A chime echoed throughout the stadium to signal that the match was about to begin and Reeva looked to Meegi and his fellow Claimers to see them rapidly begin gaining altitude above their nests.

Meegi breathed through his mouth as his wings beat the air into submission. After shouting his plan to his team, he knew they only had a few precious seconds to get into position and they had spent the first moments of the game climbing as fast as they could. As the ringing chime increased in pitch, he gave the signal to Jaalaphin and Ryylark. Together, they cropped their wings and began a steep dive towards the center of the pitch. Using their altitude, they picked up speed rapidly and with a subtle flex of his toes, he silently told the other claimers to fan out as they raced towards the waiting Wyvern claimers.

The confused looks on their opponents faces brought a smirk to Meegi's snout. One moment Meegi and the Harpies were positioned to be on the defensive, but now they were hurtling towards the Wyverns at breakneck speed before the match had even started. Glancing down to the rapidly approaching center line, he tried to judge the distance and corrected his speed. Any player that crossed the line prematurely would receive a penalty lap, but he knew he would need as much speed as possible to execute his play. With Ryylark and Jaalaphin fanned out to flank their opponents, the enemy team's strategy fell into disarray. With a frantic command from their lead claimer, the Wyvern team spread out and picked their targets. Even though only dragons with eggs could be engaged, it was clear that Meegi and his team planned to use their speed to race past them and enter the nests. As the Wyvern claimers moved to intercept, both Ryylark and Jaalaphin banked back towards Meegi while staring into the other drake's eyes.

As the chime built to a crescendo, it changed to a long solid tone to signal the start of the match and all hell broke loose. Perfectly timed, Meegi crossed the centerline, aimed directly at their lead claimer, before pitching up and executing an inverted roll over the top of him. However, each of the Wyvern claimers were so fixated on their Harpy counterparts, they had failed to realize Jaalaphin and Ryylark had brought them back on a collision course with their leader. Performing evasive maneuvers, the Wyvern claimers beat their wings and rolled out of the way while Jaalaphin and Ryylark crossed over one another with little more than a horn's length between them and continued to race towards the nests.

Meegi glanced back to see the three opponents fighting to right themselves and struggled to decide between heading to the Harpies' nests and trying to control the midfield and intercept Meegi and the claimers again if they stole an egg. With a smirk on his snout, the tan drake looked ahead to the furthest nest and locked eyes with the brooder that sat atop it.

The brooder's cocky grin gave Meegi pause. Bigger, stronger, and more heavily padded, Meegi knew that if he found himself in the drake's claws he would struggle to get free, let alone escape with the egg. Circling around the opponent's nest, Meegi saw that the Wyverns had now divided their claimers. Two were holding the midfield while one had been sent to try and capture an egg from Miikalah's nests.

“Come on, ya little runt!" called the brooder from his nest with a snarl. “You can tell me how the grass tastes," he added and mantled his wings to emphasize his size.

Meegi circled around the nest, staying just outside the marked zone while trying to find the best angle to attack. As per the rules, once he entered, the brooder would have to leave the nest and intercept him. If Meegi was forced out of the marked zone, the nest would be locked out for six minutes before he could try again.

With a throaty chuckle, the brooder smiled, “Well? Are you going to fight or just try to make me dizzy?"

Cropping his wings, Meegi suddenly dove into the zone and saw the lights on the nest change color. The crowd roared in excitement as the smaller drake took on the large brooder, the latter lunging off of the platform like a coiled spring, only to find Meegi rolling into a corkscrew under the platform. Knowing he would not win an actual fight with the burly drake, Meegi opted for speed and agility. With the brooder hot on his tail, Meegi stuck to the outside of the zone while circling towards the ground before pulling up sharply towards the pillar that held the nest aloft. His wings strained under the g-forces as he pitched up sharply and smiled as the heavy brooder groaned behind him under the stress while matching the turn. Climbing vertically, Meegi could hear the labored breathing and heavy wingbears of the brooder right behind him and with a quick roll of his wings one way and then the other he feigned a left turn before yawing right into a tight helix up the nest's pillar. With a quick glance back, he saw the brooder's claws missing him by inches and with two quick flaps to keep his momentum, Meegi came level with the nest.

“See you in six!" He called out over his shoulder with a broad grin as he snatched the egg up with his hind paws and cropped his wings to dive out of the zone while the brooder snarled in frustration.

Exiting the nest zone, the crowd erupted in cheers and boos from the two halves of the stadium. Beating his wings quickly, Meegi began to climb and scanned the rest of the field to see how his teammates were doing. Looking towards Jaalaphin, he saw the grey dragon engaged with a white drake who was trying to defend his nest. A flicker of a smirk pulled at Meegi's snout as he watched his friend drive onto the back of the brooder and latch onto the larger dragon's neck, with a lunge, Jaalaphin then surged towards the drake's head.

Although Meegi had opted for speed and agility to overcome his opponent, Jaalaphin had chosen a different approach. The white brooder that was defending the nest roared in frustration, as Jaalaphin latched his claws onto the muzzle guard of the brooder's helmet and folded his wings. Despite him being lighter than the brooder, the defender didn't have the strength to carry the added weight of the claimer and found himself being pulled to the ground by his head, while beating his wings hopelessly.

Jaalaphin could feel the brooder's hot breath against his paws as the white defender snarled and snapped at the digits that gripped his muzzle. He held firm, while looking over his shoulder to gauge their descent. As the grassy ground came closer and closer, Jaalaphin flared his wings and with a heave of his forelegs, pulled himself over the back of the brooder and kicked off of him with his powerful hind legs.

The brooder had to use all of his wing strength to avoid colliding with the ground and in turn converted his vertical momentum to horizontal speed. His white wings beat furiously as he tried to avoid exiting the zone, but his larger mass made it impossible. As the body of the brooder was pulled out of the zone by his momentum, a horn played throughout the stadium to signal a penalty. Glancing around, he saw the referee circling above him, who simply pointed at him with a paw and then gave a circling motion to confirm his fate.

“Take a lap, buddy," called Jaalaphin as he snatched an egg from the now undefended nest. The grey drake's cocky smile caused the defeated brooder to roar in frustration.

Seeing his teammate with an egg, Meegi glanced over towards Ryylark, the lithe drake still battling his brooder to try and get the egg. The lights that circled the nest began to flash faster and faster as the time to steal the egg was running out. “Come on, buddy," Meegi muttered to himself and passed the egg he carried in his hind paws to his front paws so he could clutch it tightly against his chest. Ryylark was approximately the same size as the brooder, and before his injury would have just chosen violence to get the egg from the nest; however, now Ryylark seemed to be holding back. He had hoped that Ryylark would have been able to steal the egg by now and have only two opposing claimers contend with but the drake seemed to be struggling to get the upper paw over the brooder. 

Seeing that the two Wyvern claimers were engaging Jaalaphin, Meegi was faced with a difficult choice. He could get his egg to one of his nests and pray that Jaalaphin could keep the two claimers off of his back for long enough, or he could risk his egg by taking the fight to the claimers. He watched Jaalaphin bank steeply to avoid the lead claimers dive but was forced to turn back further away from his goal as the second tried to latch his claws onto him. Every swoop and dive came closer and closer to the Jaalaphin, and as his wings began to tire he found himself coming closer to the ground. Falling back towards the nest he came from, he was able to beat his wings to try and gain some much needed altitude before he suddenly the Wyverns lead claimer drove into his hips. Roaring in pain, Jaalaphin tried to roll with the hit and inturn swung his tail at speed into his assailant's head as he fumbled out of the sky. 

Adrenaline pumped through Jaalaphin's veins as his heart pounded in his chest. With his egg clutched to his chest, his lungs burned as he tried again to climb higher to gain precious altitude that he could convert to speed but once again had to swerve out of the way as one of the claimers raced past his snout. Alternating their attacks, the two assailants harried him with their wings determined to tire him out before going for the kill.

As one swooped past Jaalaphin, the gray drake folded one wing to roll and fall out of the way only to feel the sharp pain of claws rake into his shoulders. His smooth scales only offered a token amount of resistance, as they were cracked and torn by the Wyvern claimer's talons. As he roared out in agony, the audience collectively gasped; ribbons of crimson began to run from his shoulder and stained his padded armor, but he held onto his egg with a tight grip.

The claimer on Jaalaphin's back snarled at him as he yanked the grey drake off course. “Let it go or never fly again," he spat as his hind legs clawed at the drake's hip. When the grey drake didn't release the ball, he yanked his claws through Jaalaphin's shoulders and latched on again, deeper. While the claw guards were designed to only allow a certain length of talon to be used, repeated cuts could still slice deep. “Drop it, runt!" he spat. Together, Jaalaphin and himself tumbled out of the sky. He could feel the wing shoulder under his claws beginning to go weak, but when Jaalaphin looked back at him with a cocky smile, he was confused.

Folding one wing and rotating his body at the last minute, Meegi collided with the drake that had latched onto Jaalaphin at full speed. Making sure to exhale as he did, so as not to wind himself, Meegi's mass ripped the claimer off of Jaalaphin and sent him flying. With a flare of his wings, Meegi pulled up and corkscrewed around his teammate to intercept the second claimer that was swooping down. While rocketing upwards towards the incoming opponent, Meegi used his wings to roll inverted and kicked upwards with his hind legs into the drake's lower chest. He impacted with the full momentum of his body, driving the air from the drake's lungs and sending him careening off to the side while struggling to breathe.

The crowd went ballistic at the display. Flying wingtip to wingtip, the two claimers soared towards their nests while their opponents struggled to regain altitude and speed to catch up. Meanwhile, Ryylark was still struggling to get the upper hand on his brooder. The flashing lights around the nest were strobing quickly as time was running out for him to steal the egg. As soon as the lights around the nest became solid, a horn rang out through the stadium, and Ryylark snarled in frustration. Stretching his wings out, he leveled out to leave the zone, having been unsuccessful in capturing the egg, and began his penalty lap.

Shaking his head in disappointment, Meegi flew alongside Jaalaphin and ensured that his wing drake placed his egg down on Riikal's nest before flying onto the rearmost nest and placing his egg down. Bells chimed throughout the stadium as each point was scored, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

Circling around the back lines of his half of the field, Meegi locked eyes with Ryylark as he flew past performing his penalty lap and saw the shame in the failed drake's eyes. They both knew that the drake could have done more and, as a result, they had only scored two points instead of three. Turning back to the middle of the field, Meegi and Jaalaphin climbed to hold a defensive position while the opponent claimers flew closer. Glancing to their third, who was still battling it out with Miikalah, Meegi chuckled as the larger dragoness let the claimer get close to her egg before latching her claws into his padding and pulling him away. Holding the squirming drake close, she flew to the outer edges of the nest zone and tossed him out. As the lights changed to a solid red around her nest, the defeated claimer was forced to start his penalty lap for unsuccessfully capturing an egg.

Reeva found herself on her feet, roaring a cheer with the rest of the crowd as the brooder successfully protected her nest. “LET'S GO, HARPIES!" she bellowed before her frill flattened against her neck in embarrassment as Kaarif roared with laughter. “Oh, shut up!" she giggled.

Chuckling at how invested she had become, Kaarif waved a paw dismissively. “Oh, it's just cute," he said with a broad grin. “But that was a sick opening play," he said and looked up as Meegi and Jaalaphin began intercepting the Wyvern claimers. “Though it was pretty risky," he added cryptically.

“Why was it risky? Because they all went for the nests at once?" Reeva asked, without looking away from the players flying across the field. With all three of the Wyvern nests locked out for six minutes, Meegi, Jaalaphin, and Ryylark circled around their two available nests to get ready for their opponents' counter-offensive. “The way that they dove at the center line at the beginning, if they misjudged their speed they would have ended up all doing a penalty lap," Kaarif explained.

Reeva nodded in understanding, “and then they could have struck our nests all at once?" she asked and saw him nod in confirmation. “And I guess, if they got the eggs out while our claimers were doing their penalty lap, nothing would stop them from scoring."

“Top of the class," Kaarif grinned. “Penalty laps are also super tiring, so doing them early in the game is kinda annoying," he added.

Reeva's eyes widened as she nodded in realization, watching the players dive and dance in the sky. She couldn't imagine staying up for the full ninety minutes. “At least they got a couple of points," she replied, as she watched one of the Wyvern's lead claimers snatch an egg from Riikal's nest only to have all three of the Harpy's claimers swoop down one after another and bully the drake into dropping the egg. As the ovoid-shaped ball bounced erratically across the ground, one of the human ball boys drove out onto the pitch on a quad bike to collect it and whisk it away for future use.

“Two - zip is a good start," Kaarif said, “hopefully it stays this way, I got money on this game." 

Giving him a questioning look and scoffing, “Who are you even rooting fo-" before she could finish her question Kaarif nudged her and gave a subtle nod towards Tiiphani and her father. The older drake didn't seem to be paying much attention to the game, only occasionally looking up at the players before focusing back down on the large tablet he had set up on the cushion. Next to him however sat Tiiphani, her eyes locked on Meegi as he flew above and dove towards the Wyvern's nests. 

Reeva was about to look away but something on the drake's tablet caught her eye. Lifting her head higher, she tried to look inconspicuous while looking out of the corner of her eye at the picture of Meegi on the screen. Frowning, she watched as the drake scrolled down and began reading a list of numbers and percentages which she didn't understand, before the drake tilted the screen to his daughter. 

“Is this him?" The older drake asked Tiiphani, when she nodded he looked back up and focused on the tan drake. “He has talent, no doubt about it. But do you think he is hungry enough?" 

“This is his whole thing." Tiiphani replied, having to raise her voice to be heard. “He would do anything for a shot." She added while watching Meegi dive into the nest and try to capture another egg. 

“He means that much to you, does he?" The drake asked, as the crowd erupted. Meegi had just managed to steal the egg from the nest and was now being pursued by the Wyverns lead claimer.

Reeva's gaze was torn between the game on the field and the one a few cushions down the VIP section. Pretending to look at the Harpies' nests, as one of the Wyvern claimers tried to overpower Huune, Reeva used her peripheral vision to see Tiiphani lift her head closer to her father's ear and whisper something. The roars from the crowd made it impossible to hear, but the subtle nod that her father gave Tiiphani made her chest feel uneasy.